


Inside My Heart, Inside This House

by zzegnas



Series: Countryside Chronicles [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, countryside AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-06
Updated: 2013-05-06
Packaged: 2017-12-10 14:40:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/787185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zzegnas/pseuds/zzegnas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall recovers from his knee injury in the comforts of the English countryside with his two best friends, Harry and Liam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inside My Heart, Inside This House

**Author's Note:**

  * For [polishedstone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/polishedstone/gifts).



> **Alternately:** Niall meets Zayn, the gamekeeper; Liam unwittingly becomes the object of Louis's affection, who happens to be the local farmer; and Harry's just plain weird.
> 
> I take full responsibility for remaining mistakes, inaccurate depictions of English country life, and knee injuries.
> 
> Title taken from "Here Is The House" by Depeche Mode :)

The unusual English weather leaves a chill in the air, and its bite makes its way through Niall’s parka.  It’s springtime and Niall sits with Loki, Liam’s new puppy, on the steps outside of their flat.  They patiently wait for Liam to come out with their luggage for their stay in the countryside.

Thanks to Niall’s knee injury that stemmed from a school accident, it acted up from time to time, rendering him helpless to do the simplest of tasks.  Unfortunately, the pain from the last flare up was too severe and despite the corrective measures, his doctor insisted he take a sabbatical to help with the healing process–both physically and emotionally. 

It was perfect timing, really–Harry found out through his mother that a friend of hers was renting out a small cottage in the country for a few months.  He insisted it was the perfect place for Niall to recover from everything, and that he and Liam would be there every step of the way.  Despite a little apprehension having to leave London for a while, Niall figures he needs this to restart his life. 

Liam comes out of their flat and stacks the luggage at the front door–he’s mumbling to himself, making sure they have everything they need, and takes a seat next to Niall.  Niall didn’t bother to sleep the night before, knowing he would just end up falling asleep on the car ride there.  He feels himself lightly dozing off but straightens up when Loki nuzzles his leg.  Sometimes he thinks Loki is a lot smarter than he looks.

Niall looks at his phone for the time: it’s barely 6:30 in the morning, and the early risers are now heading out for their morning jog.

A car horn blares through the neighborhood, and a large black car pulls up in front of the flat.  The window rolls down with Harry’s head sticking out, yelling, “Well, what do you think?”

Niall and Liam are stunned.  “How the hell did you get a Rolls Royce!?” Liam shouts.

Harry gets out of the car and excitedly runs toward them asking, “Isn’t it gorgeous?  I figured if we were going to the countryside, we should do it in style!”

“It’s beautiful, Harry–but seriously,” Niall pauses, “How did you get the money to buy this?  A Rolls Royce is a huge investment!”

Harry smiles and bounces on his feet, “Let it be known I am _truly_ the king of good bargains,” he says, holding his head high.

“You went on ebay, didn’t you,” Liam says unconvinced. “Just like when you bought that cheap piece of junk motorcycle.”

“Hey, you watch your mouth–that was a Vespa!” Harry growls behind his teeth.  “Come on, Niall.  Let’s get you into the car.”

Liam starts piling their luggage into the back and Niall gets into the backseat.  Harry tells Niall he took the time to put an arrangement of pillows, so he could rest his knee comfortably–a sweet gesture on Harry’s part.  Harry commands Loki to jump in and the puppy sits himself just by Niall’s propped foot.

Niall looks up and notices a sunroof over him, wondering when it might be put to good use.  “Didn’t even know these cars had sunroofs,” he says quietly.

As soon as Harry pulls into traffic, he and Liam begin arguing about the price of the car.  Niall’s heard it all before, but he knows Liam is just making sure Harry spent his money wisely.

“Liam, it’s vintage!  We should be going there looking like old money!” Harry whines.

“Vintage does not mean _cheap_ ,” Liam retorts, “And us looking like ‘old money’ at _our_ age means ‘nouveau riche trash’.”

“Look at you using big words!” Harry feigns shock, “Where’d you read that, some fashion blog?”

“If you two are going to keep arguing,” Niall says reaching over to firmly grip the backs of their necks, “I will choke you out with my cane before we even hit the motorway–got it?”  The two quietly nod their heads and he lets go before sitting back.

“We’re still going to look like a bunch of uptight bastards,” Liam quietly huffs out.

Harry purposely swerves the car, throwing everyone in disarray–but effectively whacks Liam’s head into the window.

“Liam, did you know undigested meat can stay in your colon?  Because that’s what you are to me.”

Niall stays awake for half an hour before his sleep deprivation finally kicks into gear.  He adjusts his body to lie down, propping two pillows under his head, and falls asleep almost immediately.

–

“Wake up, Niall...”

Niall lets out a soft snort and blearily blinks his eyes.

“Wake up, sleepyhead...”

Niall feels a light mist fall onto his face, but doesn't budge.  When the mist turns into streams of water rapidly spitting at him, he frantically sits up and looks around bewildered.

“What the hell was that!?”

Harry’s giggling behind the head rest and Niall sees nothing but his silly curly hair.  “We’re taking a rest!” he says tilting his head to the side. “Liam’s getting us some breakfast, and your tummy was growling louder than Loki.”

“Ugh!  You didn’t spit on me, did you?” Niall asks, wiping his face off in disgust.  Harry shakes his head and giggles holding up a spray bottle with Loki’s name on it.

“Where are we, by the way?” Niall looks out of the window, finding them parked under a tree across from a small building that also housed a church.

“We’re in a village about an hour-ish away from the cottage, we’ll be there soon,” he says getting out of his seat to open Niall’s door. “Come on, I’m starving!”

Niall manages to get out one leg before Harry helps him the rest of the way to a table located nearby.

Liam approaches the table balancing four hot plates on his arms. “I didn’t know what you wanted, so I got you breakfast with _extra_ breakfast,” he says settling two plates in front of Niall and one each for himself and Harry.  Niall bounces in his seat and immediately digs in more than his mouth can handle.

“Oh, I take it your diet’s off then?” Harry says with a genuine smile, noticing Niall’s ravenous eating style.

Niall attempts to explain himself but his overstuffed mouth only blurts, “Har pls dad wod mill plon!”

“I didn’t catch that – did you say, ‘hard plotdad wombat’?”

Niall manages to swallow his food before spitting out, “I said, ‘Harry, please, that was a meal plan’!  Didn’t work anyway, I stayed the same size,” and stuffs his mouth with even more food.  Harry lets out an “Ohh I get it” with a giggle.

“Probably because you ate an entire month’s worth of food in a week,” Liam says under his breath, stuffing toast into his mouth.

“You are such a–” Niall says before Harry throws his napkin in Liam’s face.

Liam flicks some of his food at the two before they start throwing bits of toast at each other.  Loki happily eats the pieces of toast that fall to the ground before the boys settle down and finish their meal.

 

The trio get back into the car to make the last hour drive towards their destination.  What once was a paved road leading towards the village soon turned into a trail of dirt and rocks before they finally reach the long driveway of the cottage.

They get out of the car and Loki immediately zooms between Harry’s legs, running around on the front lawn with Liam chasing after him.

“Oh Niall, would you look at this place!” Harry exclaims dreamily, clasping his hands together like a proud mother.

The cottage was a two-story home guarded by a wooden fence on the front lawn, and vines crawled on both sides of the house enveloping it in a green and white claw-like shell.

Niall’s still taking in the sight of their new residence when Harry grabs his hand and nearly stumbles forward, rushing towards the front door.  Once he unlocks it, Harry darts all over the place, giggling excitedly with his shoes stomping loudly behind him.

The cottage is fully furnished, complete with a decent television set and a telephone.  Photos and paintings line the gaudy red floral wallpaper, but it only depicts landscapes rather than the family who owns the property.  A musky scent lingers in the home, but it’s nothing an open window can’t handle.

Niall doesn’t know how Harry managed to get everything sorted, but he’s grateful that his best friends did it without relaying any added stress onto him.

Liam dumps all their luggage by the door and Harry blazes down the stairs in time to stop Niall from sitting on the sofa.  Harry guides him to a room on the first floor that he insists he take for accommodation purposes.

The room overlooks a small garden in the backyard–noticing Loki sniffing and barking at random flowers through the windows–with a swing attached to the branch of a large old oak tree.  Niall flops down onto the bed in relief, only to find the linen feeling scratchy on his back, but it’ll do for now.

“What do you think of the place so far?  Did I do good?” Harry asks plopping down next to Niall in a cuddle.

He drapes an arm around his friend’s waist and mumbles, “It’s perfect Harry, you did amazing.”  Harry lightly boops Niall’s nose before falling into a fit of giggles from Niall snorgling his neck.

–

Niall’s unpacking and organizing around his room when Harry sticks his head in from the doorway with a worried expression.  “Liam looks sad, you might want to... you know...” shifting his head as a signal to follow him.

Niall limps to the kitchen with ease before he feels his stomach drop.  The refrigerator door is open and its contents: completely empty.  He closes it and looks over to Harry standing in the living room, looking a bit forlorn.

“We did all this planning and I only remembered to bring food for Loki,” Liam says exasperated, holding a hand to his forehead.  Loki is circling Niall, whining before he saunters off to Harry.

“Oh look, someone’s coming up the driveway!” Harry says peering through the living room curtains.  The boys come up behind him and notice a couple getting out of a large black SUV, walking slowly towards the house with a large plate and a small bag.  They all look at each other in confusion, wondering who it could be, before the doorbell rings and Loki runs to the door, barking in excitement.

All three are greeted with a warm “Hello!” when Liam opens it.  The couple introduce themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Malik, who live just over the hill, and welcome them to the village.  The boys all exchange pleasantries before inviting them inside to their small dining room.

Mrs. Malik sets down the small bag and large plate on the table before removing the cling film to reveal warm, freshly baked brownies and cold bottle of milk.  Harry and Niall immediately divebomb the plate before Liam can stop them.

Mrs. Malik lets out a laugh and says, “The owners told us when you might be here and we figured we’d bring you a snack–perfect timing!”

“They’re delicious!” Niall exclaims, continuing to stuff more brownies in his mouth than he can manage and hacks out an incredibly loud cough.  Mrs. Malik runs over to pat him on the back as Harry attempts to catch the brownie debris into his hands.

“Uh, excusing Niall’s massive mouth,” Liam cuts in with a disgusted look on his face, “What can we do for you?”

Snapping out of her amusement, Mrs. Malik looks over to her husband who sits up and says, “Oh!  That’s my part,” with a laugh. “Myself and the missus would like to invite you boys to our home for dinner tonight.”

Liam opens his mouth, but Mr. Malik holds up a hand to finish, “Now we know you haven’t had a chance to buy groceries yet, so we’d like to give you a full meal until you get yourself settled in later.”

“Oh no, we couldn’t possibly–” Liam tries to object, but Harry and Niall immediately cut him off, accepting the invitation.  There was absolutely no way Niall was going to miss out on a home cooked meal, let alone the cost being free.

“Fantastic!” Mrs. Malik exclaims.  “Dinner is scheduled for eight tonight.  Oh, and do dress warmly, it can get a bit chilly in our area,” she says handing over a piece of paper complete with driving directions and their home phone number.  “It’s called ‘Malik Estates’, you can’t miss it!”

Mr. and Mrs. Malik leave a few minutes later, and the boys wave goodbye to them as they head back to their car.  Niall hears Liam’s stomach growl loudly, and suggests he and Harry buy some takeaway for a proper lunch.

–

At half past twelve, Niall finds himself already bored waiting for Harry and Liam to come back from the village with food.  He explores the cottage looking for new bed linens when he hears a loud truck pull up in front.  He walks to the front door, carefully taking a peek from the windows: the words “Tomlinson Farms” are emblazoned over the door’s dark blue paint job, with various plants sticking out from the bed.

A young man gets out of the truck, quickly jumping on one of the tires to lean into the back, and grabs a large wooden crate.  He looks to be in his early 20s, dressed in blue jeans and a red/gray raglan shirt, his hair messy and swooping to one side.  He sprints up to the house and uses his free hand to ring the doorbell.

Loki begins barking in excitement and Niall is taken aback when he opens the door, greeted with an extremely loud “Hi!” from the young man.  “My name’s Louis – Louis Tomlinson,” he says shaking Niall’s hand.

“Just thought I’d drop by to give you my freshest pick of the day, courtesy of The Maliks!”  The young man waves his free hand over the crate, showcasing an array of fruits, vegetables, and freshly baked bread in paper bags.

Impressed with the crate and Louis’s warm welcome, Niall invites him inside where Louis places the crate on the dining table.

“And who’s this little guy?” Louis asks, bending down to scratch Loki’s ears, playfully growling at the puppy.

“His name’s Loki!  Lovely, ain’t he?” Niall replies, tossing a treat to the puppy before shooing him away. “He belongs to my friend Liam, but he doesn’t like obeying him that much.  Oh, I’d offer you a drink but,” Niall opens the fridge, “as you can see, we don’t have any food yet.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m good,” he says with a wave and hops onto the counter.  “So how did you find this place?  You liking it so far?”

“My friend Harry,” Niall pauses to eat a piece of bread from the crate, “His mum knows the owners and had everything sorted.  We’re mostly here so I can recover.”

“Ooh,” Louis begins bouncing around excitedly asking, “Are you on the run from someone?”

Niall lets out a laugh and shakes his head.  “Got a bad knee,” tapping where his brace is located, “Doctor’s orders.”

“So I guess a game of footie is out of the question, yeah?” Louis pauses, waiting for Niall’s response, who stares at him before letting out a laugh.

“I’m guessing from your truck you’re a farmer?” Niall asks, leaning against the fridge.

“Yup, quite proud of it too,” Louis affirms with a slow nod. “My whole family’s been farming for ages, it’s how we make money.”

“Grow anything in particular, like a best seller?”

“Anything that grows big enough is a best seller, Niall,” Louis replies with a cheeky grin.  Niall rolls his eyes with a smile, and the front door opens with Harry yelling his name.

“In the kitchen!”

“We have food!” Harry says as he tosses a plastic bag of takeaway boxes on the dining table. “Me and Liam found a place–oh, hello!”

Louis holds his hand out when he introduces himself to Harry, but the gentle giant hugs him instead, leaving Louis to robotically pat Harry’s back in response.

“He just really likes to hug people,” Niall says to his confused new friend.

Harry invites Louis to stay for lunch, but waves his hand to politely decline saying, “I ate before I got here, but I need to get back to the farm soon.”  When he jumps off the counter, Liam angrily barges into the kitchen.

“Did you know Harry and I went to the smoothie store to buy bananas and the girl asked, ‘What for?  Are you making a smoothie?’  The gall of her!  Promise not to mash these up, yeah?  How do you run out of bananas!”

Niall tilts his head when he notices Louis changing his posture–straightening his shirt with a quick pinch to his buttcheeks–and biting his lip at the sight of Liam.  Louis briefly fixes his hair before clearing his throat.

“I’ve got a couple of bananas for you,” Louis says in a seductive voice, “The biggest this town will ever have.”

“Oh, I didn’t know we had a guest...” Liam quietly says with flushed cheeks.

Harry lets out a snort and Niall introduces the two boys to each other, stifling his laughter.  Still reeling from embarrassment, Liam shakes Louis’ hand with his head down.

“Louis here was kind enough to bring us a crate of fruits and vegetables from his farm.”

Reaching into the box, Louis tears off a single banana from a bunch and holds it in front of Liam.  “Tell me how ripe you like your bananas,” he says playfully biting his lip.  Liam attempts to speak but only lets out squeaks when he notices Louis’s thumb lightly rubbing the skin of the banana between them.

Louis then leans forward and whispers, “Everything I grow will be the thickest and sweetest you’ll ever have in your mouth.”  Liam’s eyes go wide and he quickly looks over to Harry and Niall who are too speechless to laugh at Louis’ confident declaration of phallic shaped produce.

“P-P-Plantains aren’t sweet,” Liam stammers, and winces from his weird statement.

Licking his lips slowly, Louis carefully places the banana back into the box. “I can make anything sweet,” he says with a sultry chuckle.  Liam chokes back his breath.

“Well, lots to do at the farm,” Louis cuts in, blinking his eyes to fully snap out of his trance.  “It was nice meeting you guys, hope to see you around more.”  He gives a mock salute to Niall, and a wink to Liam before Harry escorts him to the door.

Liam drops into the chair with his face pressed against his hands.  “Niall, if you say anything, you’ll be worrying about _both_ your knees.”

Niall defensively puts his hands up and focuses on taking out their lunches when Harry takes the seat next to him.  “He seemed quite nice, don’t you think?” Harry coyly asks with his signature dimpled smile.

“Maybe next time you guys can talk about zucchinis,” Niall says with a snicker, reaching for one in the crate.  “Or maybe a lean, mean eggplant in your–”

“Niall!” Liam says with his jaw clenched.

“Yeah, or butternut squash, even!  Massive, massive squash,” Harry adds with wide eyes, using his hands to determine its imaginary length.  

“I’ll squash the both of you!  Louis was just being nice!” Liam says pounding a fist into the table.

Niall then puts on a sing-song voice, “Oh Liam, let me put a banana in your mouth, let me put it all over my–” and Liam lunges towards him, putting him in a play headlock.

Harry gleefully jumps behind Liam, piggyback style, before they all fall over the floor in a heap of giggles when Loki begins pulling on Liam’s pant legs.  Liam snaps his fingers at Loki and the puppy immediately stops.

“Can we please have lunch now?” Niall breathlessly asks at the bottom of the pile.  “I’d rather _not_ have Liam poke me in the back so early during our holiday.”

–

Niall’s looking at the directions to Malik Estates, growing increasingly annoyed by Harry’s slow driving.  “Harry, we’re going to miss the dinner if you keep driving slower than a snail,” he says looking through the window.

“What am I supposed to do with ‘look for pathway of trees’, it’s so vague–oh, there it is!” and Harry finally speeds up the car.

The drive down the pathway turns everything darker by the shade of the trees.  Soon they pass a dim lamp post lighting a large intricate wooden sign with the words, “Malik Estates”, painted in cursive handwriting.

The car pulls up to a giant mansion, illuminated by the various lights seeping through the windows.  Loose gravel lines a curved driveway with a couple of cars already parked in front, and Harry finds a spot big enough at the end for their Rolls Royce.  “Huh.  I wonder if Mrs. Malik invited more people tonight,” Harry says out loud.

They get out and barely take two steps from the car when Liam stops to adjust their outfits.  “We had _six hours_ to get ready, Liam!  Stop!” Harry quips, swatting Liam’s hands away from fixing Niall’s collar.

“Look, it’s our first time in the country, what if we wore the wrong outfits?  Aren’t we supposed to be in dinner jackets?” he asks apprehensively.

“Maybe if it were the 1950s,” an unfamiliar voice comes from behind them.

The trio gasp and Liam turns around demanding, “Who’s there?  Show yourself!”

A plume of smoke puffs into the air from behind a pillar when the unknown figure emerges.  He throws his cigarette to the ground and stomps on it before approaching the three boys.  “Didn’t mean to frighten you,” he says softly.

Niall takes in the stunning sight in front of him, gripping the handle of his cane so tightly his knuckles turn white, and his eyes growing a little wider with every step forward he takes.

Niall can’t help but bite the inside of his cheek when he notices his outfit: the tight black jeans that hugged his thighs, the open navy blue bomber jacket revealing a black shirt, and his hair combed back into a duck’s tail.  Niall quietly exhales through his mouth when he eyes the leather boots laced over the fine young man’s jeans.

“The name’s Zayn,” holding his hand out, “I’m the gamekeeper here.”

“I’m Harry!” he says in a perky voice, opting to hug Zayn instead who gives a soft ‘oof!’ from the impact before quickly releasing him to introduce Liam and Niall.

Zayn quickly shakes Liam’s hand, but holds on to Niall’s hand just a little longer than expected.  Niall feels Zayn slowly release his grip, his breathing becoming uneven when Zayn’s fingertips lightly graze his palm.  Zayn extends the sensation to each of Niall’s fingers–sending a slow and powerful current of electricity through his spine–and finishes with a soft smile when he finally lets go.

Niall’s daydreaming is cut short when Zayn asks, “Are you here for the dinner?”

“What? Oh! Um,” Niall coughs, pretending he wasn’t staring at Zayn’s mouth, “Yeah, we just arrived from London and got invited.”  Niall shoots a death stare at Harry when he hears him giggling.

“Ah, well do enjoy your stay here, won’t you?” He’s giving that soft smile only to Niall again.  “Don’t let me keep you from your meal,” giving the trio a wave before quickly turning away and giving a wink to Niall.

Niall watches Zayn slowly walking away–noticing the barrel of a shotgun peeking out from the bottom of his jacket–until he’s out of sight, only to be met with Harry’s cheeky grin when he turns around.  Niall couldn’t blush any harder if he tried and curtly says, “Let’s go!”, quickly walking towards the house with the bottom of his cane crunching the gravel as loudly as possible.

“Hey, wait up!” Liam says running after him with Harry in tow.

They reach the front door and quickly smooth out their clothes before Liam rings the doorbell.

Harry leans over to Niall’s ear and coos, “I think someone’s in love...”

“Aw, shut up, Harry!  It wasn’t even like that,” Niall unsuccessfully denies.

Liam snickers, “I saw that wink he gave you, don’t even try it.”

“And what was that handshake!” Harry interjects, “I thought you were going to fuse together if you held on to each other long enough.”

“Shut. Up. Harry!” Niall denies once more. “It was just a handshake!”

Harry rolls his eyes, sarcastically adding, “I say that to myself when I’m jerking–”

The front door opens and Mrs. Malik excitedly greets them, inviting the boys into her home.

A grand staircase presents itself to the boys, leading one way up before splitting like a fork in the road.  Niall expected the home to have marble floors, but finds it covered in hardwood instead.  The old chandelier that hangs above the staircase shrouds the room in a soft yellow glow, hiding the light blue paint on the walls.

They enter the vast living room, the walls painted in a dark shade of red, filled with Victorian furniture and a large mirror situated over the fireplace.  Mrs. Malik asks them wait there for a moment and excuses herself into a room nearby.

“Wow, I’d love to live in a place like this one day,” Harry says in amazement, lying down seductively on a nearby chaise lounge. “Do you find me sexy, Liam?”

“No, Harry,” Liam says glaring at his friend. “Get up before we get in trouble!”

Niall walks over to the fireplace, inspecting the picture frames nestled on the mantle.  They’re family photos of the Maliks: birthday parties, baby photos, and school portraits.  Niall notices a familiar face in all of them.

“Hey look, Zayn’s in all these pictures!” Niall says from intrigue.

Harry slinks over and takes a look for himself.  “You gonna steal one of these to keep next to your bed?” he asks, teasing Niall.

“Stop,” Niall playfully elbows him, “I was just pointing it out.”

Mrs. Malik enters the room again, apologizing for making them wait. “We were still setting up the food, I didn’t want you to go in there and see everything in a big mess,” she says holding a hand to her cheek in disappointment.

“Mrs. Malik, I was just wondering,” Niall pauses, “Is Zayn your son?”

“Oh, you’ve met him!” she replies happily, “He’s the gamekeeper here, always wandering outside shooting pheasants.”

Niall straightens up a little, remembering the slight peek of the shotgun in Zayn’s jacket.  “So _that’s_ what it was for,” he thinks to himself.

She shakes her head and adds, “I was hoping he’d join us for tonight’s dinner, but nope!  He decides tonight’s the night to be busy.  Oh well.  Come on then, let’s get you boys fed!”

Mrs. Malik ushers the boys through the same door she’d entered earlier and lets slip, “I hope you don’t mind a few more guests tonight,” gripping the bronzed handles.  “We’re a bit of a tight-knit community and I’d love for you to meet everyone.”

The boys let her know they don’t mind, given the amount of cars in the driveway.  She smiles at them–it looks exactly like Zayn’s own–and opens the door to a brightly lit dining area.

–

“All this food is just so delicious, Mrs. Malik!” Harry says scooping up a couple of spoonfuls of steamed rice onto his plate, “You made all of this for us?”

Mrs. Malik blushes. “Thank you, but I had a bit of help,” looking over to smile at her husband.  “And you boys take as many helpings as you like!  Go on, Liam, have some more pasta.”

The table stretches out to seat at least 20 guests, with the food being passed around in a circle for everyone to help themselves with at least one serving.  Niall takes as much as he can in one go before passing it on to the next guest.

Niall’s enjoying a slice of prime rib when he realizes a plate of roasted vegetables are in front of him.  “Say, Mrs. Malik, would these vegetables happen to be from that farmer lad, Louis?” Niall asks innocently, giving a sly smirk when he sees Liam freeze in his seat.

“Oh yes, he called earlier to let us know he gave you a sample of his farm’s goods!” she exclaims scooping a few of the vegetables on to her plate.  “Such a shame Louis and his family couldn’t make it tonight,” she sighs. “And I don’t know how they do it, but the tomatoes are always so _plump_ and _juicy_!”

Niall holds back a laugh, noticing Liam turning a little pink before he takes a drink from his glass of ice water.  Harry catches on to Niall’s expression and says with a grin, “How about those zucchinis, Liam?”

Water goes flying everywhere–Liam’s choked on his drink.  Mrs. Malik runs over to rub his back and Liam apologizes profusely for making a mess before she heads back to her seat.

“Our Liam has a sensitive throat,” Niall says behind an evil grin, “He’s been choking on a lot of things lately.”  Niall and Harry stifle their laughter but straighten up when Liam discreetly puts his knife to his neck, implying he’ll be slicing their throats later.

–

The boys lounge in the living room after dinner, chatting with the remaining guests.  Harry’s engrossed in a conversation about the benefits of a corgi farm, and Liam’s attempting to play a round of poker with Mr. Malik and a few of his friends.

Feeling a little too warm, Niall opens a window away from everyone and sits against the wall on the sill, letting the chilly night air cool him down.  He’s got his eyes closed for a few moments when he feels something land between his legs.

Immediately sitting up, he finds a crumpled piece of paper fall to the floor and picks it up.  He looks around the room for the culprit before opening it to find in neatly written handwriting:

_Having fun?  
Come out and play._

_Zayn x_

He immediately stuffs the letter in his pocket and looks out the window, hoping to find Zayn, but only finds a tree blocking his way.

On the pretense of needing some “fresh air”, Niall finds himself wandering around the back garden, unsure of where he’s going and hoping he doesn’t get lost.

“Zayn!” he whispers, pulling back some tree branches with his cane.  “Zayn!”  He keeps treading but freezes when he hears a twig snap and–BOOM!  Niall ducks down as quickly as he can, before another two BOOM!s crack through the air.

“This was a bad idea,” he says to himself, the feeling of dread filling his stomach as he stands up to go back to the house.  “Bad, _bad_ idea–OOF!”

Niall’s bumped into something and he screams out–“OH SHIT!!”–in fear when he loses his cane, falling to the ground in a fit.  In the midst of his confusion, he feels a pair of hands holding his shoulders steady to calm him down.

“Hey!  Hey, it’s okay, it’s just me,” Niall’s entire body freezes when he realizes Zayn’s hovering over him.

“Are you all right?” he asks, “You had a bit of a scare there.”  Niall just blinks at him before being brought to his feet, and Zayn hands him his cane.

Niall adjusts his body to balance himself, feeling Zayn’s hand at the small of his back, holding him upright.  “Fine!  I’m fine, just... is it normal to hear gunshots at night?”

“No, not really,” removing his hand from Niall’s back, “But there’s been a bit of a rodent problem on the grounds lately, so there’s that.”

“That wasn’t you shooting, was it?” he asks, wiping the dirt off of his clothes.

“Oh, god no, it’s probably one of the other keepers.  I never shoot near the house.”

Niall nods his head and waits a moment before he asks, “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I was making the rounds when I saw you sleeping by the window.”

“Oh yeah?”

“And I wanted you to come out and play,” Zayn says with a slight smirk. “You having fun in there?”

“It’s not too bad,” Niall says, looking in the direction of the house. “How come you couldn’t join us?”

“Besides the rodent problem?” Zayn asks, and Niall nods with a few hairs falling out of place in response. “Mostly because I’d eaten already, and the food’s for you, but...”

Zayn slightly turns his body away from Niall, but looks back at him with a sultry gaze. “I think if my parents had bothered to tell me what you looked like, I would have waited a few more minutes.”

Niall stays silent, but looks Zayn up and down in suspicion over his statement.  “You flirting with me?” he asks incredulously.

“Oh shit,” Zayn says, his neck muscles tightening. “Oh fuck, you’re str–”

“No!” Niall quickly replies, “I’m definitely not,” he says with a nervous laugh. “Sorry if I made it sound that way, I was... um,” he clears his throat, “Just a little surprised, that’s all.  It’s been a while.”

“Okay good,” Zayn responds with a smile.  Niall smiles back, lightly shuffling his feet.

Niall feels himself hold his breath when Zayn slowly raises his hand, reaching over to sweep away the loose strands of hair from Niall’s forehead that had fallen just a minute before.  Niall closes his eyes, letting it happen before–

“ _NIALL!_ ”

He shoots his eyes open and Zayn gasps, taking a step back.  Harry’s looking for him.

“ _NIALL, WHERE ARE YOU!_ ”

“We can’t be seen,” Zayn whispers quickly.

Niall gives him a confused look and replies, “What? Why not?”

“We can, but–” he takes a step forward, “I’m meant to be working.”

“But I can tell them–”

“No!” Zayn darts his head around before focusing back on Niall and tells him, “I’ll see you in town,” and quickly runs off.

Niall throws his head back in frustration before Zayn comes back to his line of vision and plants a kiss on his lips.  The kiss was too quick for Niall to fight back, but the warmth of Zayn’s lips felt like it lasted an hour.

“ _NIALL!_ ” Harry’s shouts are getting closer.

When they break away, Zayn softly whispers, “Bye,” on Niall’s lips before quickly running back into the darkness of the back garden.

Niall turns in the direction of where Zayn ran off, and puts his hands to his lips as if Zayn’s were still there.  His heart is practically beating out of his chest from the rush of the kiss, but his brain can’t piece together what just happened.

“Niall, this isn’t funny!  Please come out!”

Hearing Harry’s cries becoming more worried, Niall straightens up and quickly walks back to the front of the garden, emerging from behind the tree branches, and finds his friend a few feet away from him.

“Oh, Niall!” Harry rushes to give his friend a tight hug and sobs out, “We heard those gunshots and you weren’t in the room and I thought you were dead!” Niall tightly hugs him back, petting his curls after.

They walk back to the house together and hear Mrs. Malik letting out an, “Oh thank goodness!  Harry’s found Niall!”, when they enter the living room.

Liam runs into the room and slams into Niall giving him a bear hug.  “You gave us a scare there, big guy,” he says before suggesting they call it a night.

Mr. and Mrs. Malik escort the boys back to their car, leaving them with plates of the leftover food from dinner.

“What are you smiling about?” Harry quietly asks, adjusting the rear view mirror before he turns to back out of The Maliks’ driveway.  The couple wave at the boys as they make their way back to the pathway of trees.

Unable to hide his smile, Niall simply says, “Nothing.”

“Don’t you ‘nothing’ me.  You’ve had that look on your face since we got back in the house.”

“Dunno, I just feel like... like I’m floating?  Just really light.”

“I really hope those gunshots we heard didn’t sent you into an existential crisis.”

Niall just shakes his head and Harry doesn’t ask anymore questions.  The rest of the drive continues in silence with Liam’s light snoring filling the car.

Once they reach the cottage, the boys all shuffle quietly to their rooms, exchanging lazy “good nights” to each other.

After changing into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, Niall belly flops onto his bed, burying his face into the pillow with a huge smile on his face.  He flips over quickly and closes his eyes to replay Zayn’s smile and the fleeting kiss they shared until he feels himself falling asleep.

–

Niall’s visiting the village doctor for a check up on his knee.  Out of boredom he amuses himself on the examination table, using the reflex hammer on his bad knee, checking to see if it’ll react.

“Well, everything looks good so far,” the doctor says examining Niall’s x-rays.

“When do you think I’ll be able to play a bit of footie?” he asks, putting the tool down.

“It’s difficult to determine so soon after your last flare up,” the doctor pauses to help Niall off the table, handing him his cane. “But I’d recommend you watched on the sidelines, just for a while.”  The news isn’t disappointing, but it’s not surprising either.

The doctor pulls out a prescription pad and quickly writes down the medication Niall needs for his knee, carefully tearing it off and handing it to him. “You can pick this up at the chemists right now, it should be ready when you get there.”

Escorting Niall to the door, he finally adds, “By the way, don’t let your cane become a crutch for you.  I think you can manage without it soon, just watch your step.”  Niall nods his head in relief and shakes his doctor’s hand, thanking him for his time.

When he reaches the waiting room, he finds Harry reading a cooking magazine, and Niall clears his throat to let him know they’re leaving.

Harry looks up and jokingly asks, “So did he check if your balls dropped?”

“They’re so heavy it fucked up my knee,” Niall replies rolling his eyes. “Come on, let’s go get my meds,” he says waving the prescription in his hand.

Harry stands up and takes Niall’s cane, walking slowly while Niall hops down to the bottom of the stairs.  “Man, these places really need an elevator,” Niall says pretending to wipe sweat from his forehead.  Harry spins the cane around in his hand before handing it back to Niall, and they head off to the chemists.

The boys wait inside the small nook of a building, browsing around while the chemist gathers Niall's medication.  Niall's looking at the various paper bags of prescriptions that sit behind the counter when Harry slides a postcard and two small bottles of lubricant onto the glass counter.

"Harry!" Niall whispers, "Put those back, are you nuts!?"

"Do you honestly believe I'm going to use lotion when these babies are for sale?" Harry asks offended. "Besides, my saliva isn't enough sometimes," he says rubbing his lips with his hands, and Niall just shakes his head.

The chemist emerges from the back, handing Niall his medication.  He charges Harry for his items, but doesn't blink an eye when he puts the lubricant into a small paper bag.  Maybe it was just too early in the day to notice such a trivial transaction.

–

Niall's leaning against the small brick staircase in front of the post office, waiting for Harry to send the postcard he bought for his mum back home.  Feeling bored, he begins tapping the handle of the cane–the head of a hissing dragon covered in silver–that Harry bought for him.

“Niall!” Harry squeals as he bounds down the stairs, “Guess who was inside picking up some mail!”  He steps aside to reveal Zayn standing behind him.

Niall’s entire body freezes on sight.  He could become the living embodiment of an ice sculpture at this very moment.  Zayn’s wearing regular street clothes, a complete 180 from the slim fit getup with the leather boots last night.

“Morning, Niall,” Zayn says with a big smile.

“Fine, thanks.” Niall replies with a shaky laugh.

“Sorry?”

“Don’t mind him,” Harry cuts in, “He just found out his balls dropped.”

Zayn lets out a laugh followed by a snort when he sees Niall smack Harry upside the head.

“So you guys running errands?” Zayn asks, looking only at Niall.  Niall looks away but can’t help smiling.

Harry nods, rubbing the back of his head, “Yup, I bought lube.”  Niall freezes and Zayn gives him a shocked look, but Harry continues nonchalantly, “...and Liam’s buying groceries.  What about you?”  The boys begin walking towards the market and Zayn follows.

“Just picking up a few things for work,” he says looking around.  “Louis should be around here somewhere, we’re supposed to meet soon.”

“Wait,” Niall pauses, holding a hand in front of Zayn to stop him.  “Louis?  As in, the farmer lad, Louis?”

“How do you begin and end a question with an answer?” Zayn replies shaking his head. “He’s my best friend.”

“Oh, he’s full of innuendo that one,” Harry says nodding his head. “Did you know he told our Liam he was going to put a banana–”

“Harold!” Niall yells out, quickly covering his friend’s mouth to avoid further embarrassment.

Zayn chuckles and reassuringly says, “Louis can be a little ‘forward’, but I’m sure he meant no harm.”

Niall removes his hand from Harry’s mouth when he spots Liam coming out of the market, and Harry runs towards him.  Now Niall’s left with Zayn again.

They walk slowly together for a moment when Zayn holds Niall’s elbow to stop him.  “Listen, what happened last night...”

A sense of both dread and excitement fills Niall’s stomach, but he keeps a straight face when he sees Liam and Harry walking towards them.

“The gunshots?”

“You know what I mean,” he says softly rubbing his thumb over Niall’s elbow, sending that electric current down his spine again.

“When you kissed–”

“ZAYN, MAN!” a loud voice booms behind them.  They turn around and find Louis climbing off of a bicycle.  Zayn laughs at his friend, asking what happened to his truck when Liam accidentally interrupts him.

“Oh no,” Liam says in a hushed tone, “It’s you...”

“Why Liam,” Louis says with a flirty smile, “Come back for more of my lovely bananas?”

Liam is unsuccessfully hiding behind the paper bags of groceries he’s holding when Louis slowly approaches him, taking a peek at the contents inside.

“What a shame, nothing in here that might drip down your pretty lips.”

“That’s why napkins were invented,” Liam says flatly behind the bags.  Harry pushes Liam forward with his shoulder, and the two boys topple to the ground with the groceries flying out of Liam’s hands.

Everyone freezes at their awkward position–Liam over Louis, Louis over his bicycle–and stay that way for a moment before quickly shoving each other away to clean off their clothes.

“Harry, look what you’ve done!” Niall says slowly bending down to pick up the groceries, but Zayn stops him and does it himself.

Harry begins to jump up and down, chanting, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”, when Louis and Liam both start shouting at him. The shouts are cut off when Zayn looks up to ask Niall, “Is Harry usually... like that?”

Niall sighs, looking over at the spectacle. “He’s just a little excited to see someone show interest in Liam.”

“And how would he act about us?” he asks, standing up to meet Niall at eye level.

Niall raises an eyebrow and bravely says, “Define ‘us’.”

Zayn steps forward leans over to whisper in Niall’s ear, “You and I kissing in the back garden last night...” his breath hot on Niall’s skin, “...or shall I redefine it for you?”

“I don’t know about that definition,” Niall whispers back with a big grin, “Perhaps a demonstration would be better.”

“No!  Liam no, stop it hurts!”

Liam’s pulling Harry’s ear, walking towards Niall.  Zayn and Niall break away from each other and regain their composure.

“I didn’t mean it–honest!  Just let me go!” Harry cries out, trying to get Liam’s hand away.  Liam lets go when he pulls Harry’s ear down hard enough before holding his hands out to Zayn, motioning for him to hand over their groceries.

Louis walks over with his bicycle, setting the kickstand, and sporting an agitated look on his face.  “When you two _lovebirds_ have quite finished,” he says to Zayn and Niall with his arms crossed, “I would like to go get lunch.”

Niall and Zayn quickly say their goodbyes and both parties walk away in opposite directions with Harry leading the way back to the cottage on foot.

Niall purposely walks behind Harry and Liam, discreetly looking over his shoulder and slightly catches wind of Zayn and Louis bickering with each other.  They aren’t shouting, but snippets of the conversation such as “control yourself”, “seduction”, and “kissing his ear”, seemed to stand out the most.

–

The next morning Niall sits in the living room sofa with Loki by his feet, watching a nature documentary on tv.  Harry jumps over the sofa, landing perfectly in the seat next to Niall, eating from a small basket of grapes.

“I don’t remember Liam buying grapes,” Niall says reaching over to eat a few.

“He didn’t,” Harry replies. “These were on the front porch this morning.”

Niall stops chewing midway. “Harry, these could be poisoned!”

“Don’t even worry!” Harry replies waving him off. “It’s from Louis’s farm, he left a note and everything.”

“Who left a note?” Liam asks shuffling into the room.

“Your lover boy, Louis,” Harry says with a grin.  Liam’s eyes go wide.

“He is NOT my lover boy!”

“Oh?” Harry pulls out from his shirt pocket a small sealed red envelope with Liam’s name on it. “Read this and prove it otherwise.”

Niall gasps in excitement and grabs the envelope from Harry, before Liam lunges forward, sitting on both of them and snatching it out of Niall’s hands.  Harry pushes him off and whines about the grapes that have fallen to the floor, quickly tossing them away before Loki can eat any of it.

“Well!?  Are you going to read the note or not?” Niall asks in an annoyed tone.

“You’re not reading anything that belongs to me!”

“Loki, sic balls! Get him!” Harry yells and Loki runs to pull on Liam’s shorts.

Liam yelps out, “Okay okay!  I’ll read it!  Loki stop!” Loki continues to growl at his owner until Liam snaps a finger and the puppy is rendered silent.

Liam lets out a sigh and tears open the envelope.  Niall and Harry watch intently when Liam’s expression turns from curiosity to shock when he quickly hides the letter behind his back.

“Oh come on, no!  You were supposed to read it out loud!” Harry protests.

“There is no way I am reading this out loud!”

Niall throws a pillow at Liam who dodges it.  “Don’t make us sic Loki on you again,” he threatens.

Liam throws his hands up and tosses the note to them before flopping face first onto the loveseat across from them.

Niall scoots closer to Harry who reads the note out loud:

_Dear Liam,_

_I’m sorry for yelling at your curly haired friend, I don’t normally try to charm people by having a bike pedal up my ass.  
But let me get to the point of all this: You have an insanely hot body, did you know?  I’d like it all over me.  I want your plump lips on mine and I’d suck your–_

“OH MY GOD!!” Harry shrieks dropping the note.  “He wants to suck your dick so hard you float away!”

Niall can hardly breathe from laughing so hard.  “This note is terrible, holy shit!” he yells, holding his stomach. “What is he, like 13 years old?”

Liam covers his head with a cushion and groans, “I hate you both, I want to die!” and begins to make whining noises.

Harry crawls on top of Liam’s back, petting his head. “It’s okay Liam, we’re not making fun of you.”

“Yes you are–oof!” Niall is now on top of Harry, thoroughly crushing Liam. “You just want to make me miserable this entire holiday.”

“It’ll only be miserable if you don’t let Louis stick it in you!” Harry shouts as he playfully thrusts his crotch between Niall and Liam, their bodies forming an undulating motion.

Niall laughs even harder and falls off when Liam tries to flip them over screaming out, “Off!  Get off of me!”

“Oh go on then Liam, we were just having a laugh,” Niall says breathlessly.

Liam’s hovering over his two friends with his arms crossed.  “It’s not funny when my two best friends try to dryhump me into a spitroast.”

“Yeah, go and have a wank over Louis!” Harry yells as Liam storms into the bathroom.

Niall sits up and Harry tugs at his shirt.  “Don’t think for one second I’m letting you off the hook either.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw Zayn kissing your ear when Liam was trying to rip mine off.”

“What!?” Niall shouts, surprising Harry. “No he wasn’t–we were just–it was just a–” he sputters, remembering what Zayn had said the day before, and stops when Harry raises his hand to say he’s heard enough.

“You keep telling yourself that,” he says flatly, giving a kiss to Niall’s forehead.  “If you’ll excuse me, I have to record Liam wanking so I can send it to Louis.”

–

Niall isn’t expecting anyone back home to send him mail during his holiday, but he is surprised when he finds two invitations: one from Mrs. Malik, inviting the boys to tea at her home later in the day; and one from Louis, for lunch on his family’s farm the next day.

The boys arrive to Malik Estates just a little after 2 pm, and Mrs. Malik is there to greet them when they ring the doorbell.  She guides the boys towards the grand staircase, letting them know they’ll be having tea on the second level terrace.

The terrace overlooks the vast acreage of the estate, the floor lined with terra cotta tiles, contrasting with the white rattan furniture and potted plants placed throughout.  Mr. Malik arrives, asking the boys to take a seat while he helps his wife set up the tea.

Niall feels a heavy weight in his lower abdomen and asks Mrs. Malik to show him the way to their bathroom.  After relieving himself and cleaning up, he walks down the hallway leading back to the terrace when a glint of light catches his eye.  The light’s source leads to a door slightly ajar and he quietly walks over to it, looking around to make sure he isn’t being watched, before he takes a peek.

From his obscured view, Niall surveys the room to find a neatly made bed with dark red bedsheets, a portion of a desk, and a white door next to a large wooden closet.  Niall shrugs at his discovery, but quietly gasps when the white door opens and Zayn emerges from it, completely nude, drying off his hair with a towel.

Niall gulps and can’t help but study Zayn’s slender frame.  The way the leftover droplets of water slid down his back, the way his hands scratched his abdomen, and how the muscles on his shoulders flexed when he opened his closet door to find something to wear.

Niall continues to watch as Zayn puts on his boxer briefs, followed by a pair of jeans, and a clean, dark blue t-shirt.  When Zayn opens the other closet door, revealing a full-length mirror, Niall immediately moves out of the way, hoping his reflection didn’t make it into Zayn’s line of vision.

Straightening up, Niall takes a deep breath and hightails it back to the terrace, finding everyone in mid-conversation.  Niall settles into his seat, and Mrs. Malik pours a cup of tea for him, helping himself to the pastries strewn about the table.  Biting into a madeleine, Niall feels a tap on his shoulder and Zayn slides into the empty seat next to him.

“Zayn!  How nice of you to join us,” Harry says happily.

“Sorry I’m late,” he replies, grabbing a mini-fruit tart. “I was still in the shower when you got here,” smiling at Niall when he takes a bite.

Niall painfully swallows his food, fearing Zayn really did see him in the mirror.  “Um,” he nervously lets out, “You smell really nice?”

Zayn lifts a part of his shirt and sniffs it. “It’s Yves Saint Laurent, my favorite.”

Niall nods his head, noting how the scent was intensified by ten fold when mixed with Zayn’s body heat.

The two stay quiet throughout Harry’s abysmal storytelling–reactions including: Liam falling asleep, Mr. Malik staring in confusion, and Mrs. Malik listening intently–all the while stealing glances at each other every minute or two.

“...so we get to this pet store, and they haven’t got any squeaky toys for Loki!  An unhappy Loki is an unhappy Harry,” he complains, stuffing a tea sandwich in his mouth before continuing.

Occasionally their fingers lightly brushed against one another, no thanks to the close proximity of their arm rests.  Niall would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the rush of Zayn’s touch every time it happened.

“...and then I was gonna buy a cupcake, but then I realized I had no money so I said, ‘What ever happened to handjobs!’” Harry laughs at himself, bringing his dreadfully boring story to an end.

“That was very enlightening, Harry,” Zayn says sarcastically.

“Why, thank you, Zayn!” Harry exclaims, “It’s personally my favorite story.”

Niall stifles his laughter, reaching over the table to grab the last scone and freezes when Zayn’s hand lands on top of his own.

“Oh sorry, Niall,” taking back his hand, “You take it.”

“No, we’ll share,” Niall splits the scone in half, deliberately handing the smaller piece to Zayn, and taking a bite from the bigger half.

“Hey no fair, I got the short end!” Zayn jokes, throwing a piece from his half at Niall.

Niall reciprocates with another piece until they start a semi-food fight, holding each other’s arms to keep from throwing more food at each other.  Mrs. Malik implores them to stop, a stark contrast to Harry bouncing in his seat, cheering on Niall.  The fight ultimately ends when Niall’s hand breaks free from Zayn’s grip, and accidentally grazes Zayn’s crotch.

“Whoa!” Zayn yelps, fully letting go of Niall. “Getting ahead of yourself there, dream boy,” he says with a giggle.

Niall panics, flailing his hands. “I didn’t mean to!  My hand slipped–wait,” he says flatly, “Did you just call me ‘dream boy’?”

“Yeah,” Zayn says with a grin before exchanging it with an apologetic face. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”

“No! No it’s okay,” Niall blushes. “I’ve never been called that before.”

“Aww, look at our babies falling in love!” Harry squeals.

Niall and Zayn look up in surprise, not realizing they’d been talking loud enough for everyone to hear.  Niall looks at each of them for their reaction: Harry sporting his silly dimpled grin, Mrs. Malik reaching over to hold her husband’s hand as he nods his head in approval, and lastly at Liam who was still asleep in his chair–until Harry kicks him in the leg to wake up.

“I guess we should get going,” Niall stands up nervously, looking at Harry and Liam who rise with him.  The boys thank the family for inviting them, and Mrs. Malik extends to them a future invitation as she escorts them back to their car.

Niall wiggles his left hand when he approaches the car, feeling as though he forgot something.  When he opens the car door, he turns around at the sound of Zayn shouting his name across the driveway.

“Niall, wait!” he shouts, running towards the car.  He stops to take a breather, “You left your cane,” holding out the hissing dragon handle.

“I knew I forgot something!” Niall laughs, and wraps his hand under the base of the handle, not realizing Zayn’s was also in the same position.  Zayn smiles when he releases his grip, softly running his thumb over Niall’s when he takes the cane.

“Th-Thanks,” Niall stammers, “See you next time,” and quickly climbs into the backseat, before Zayn closes it shut.

Niall smiles at him from the closed window and Zayn leans in, huffing his breath onto the window and drawing a heart over it.  Niall traces it from the other side and Zayn grins, taking a step back when Harry starts the car.

Mrs. Malik and Zayn wave goodbye as Harry drives off.  The condensation on the window had long expired, but Niall stares at Zayn’s heart outline all the way home.

–

The trio visit Louis’s family farm the next day, located a mile from Zayn’s home.  The farm was surrounded by various fruit trees, and its smell was intoxicating through the open windows of the car.  Harry slows the car down until he finds the driveway leading to the home, and parks it directly behind Louis’s dark blue truck.

They all get out of the car, quickly stretching their limbs, and walk towards the white two-story home made of stone.  The shutters on the home are painted a bright blue color, and a multitude of flowers outline the walkway leading to the front door.

Harry rings the antique bell hanging next to the door, and the boys are greeted by a woman who introduces herself as Louis’s mum, excitedly hugging each of them when they step into her home.

“I’m so glad we could finally meet you boys!  Louis talks about you all the time.”

“All three of us, Mrs. Tomlinson?” Harry asks with a smile, “Or just this geek,” referring to Liam when Harry pokes him on the side.

“Yes, all three of you,” she says with a smile. “Ah, here comes Louis now–darling, come introduce your friends to your sisters!” and excuses herself out of the room.

“Hey, glad you could make it, guys!” Louis shouts as he bounds down the stairs, happily bumping fists with Niall and Harry.  He holds his fist out for Liam, but puts it down and smiles at him instead.  Liam blinks at Louis’s changed demeanor, and nods his head in response.

“Sorry my step-dad couldn’t be here, he’s out on a business trip.  Come on, then,” Louis says, pointing the way to the patio, “My sisters are dying to meet you.” 

The patio was lined with hardwood floor with a blue awning to shield everyone from the sun.  Situated in the middle were two large wooden picnic tables, lined with gingham fabric, and bowls of fruit placed down the middle.

Louis walks the boys to the edge of the patio leading to the backyard, and introduces his four sisters who were waiting nearby.  Niall takes note of the sister named Daisy, who began asking him more questions than he could answer.

“Are you Niall?  Are you really Irish?  Zayn said you’re really cute and I always believe Zayn.  Are you going to marry him?  Do you like dancing?  You look like you can dance!”

“Daisy!” Louis covers her mouth to stop her from talking. “Our guests haven’t taken their seats yet, think you can wait ‘til after?” Louis asks.  She nods her head and he removes his hand from her mouth.

“I’m sorry, Niall,” she tugs at his hand, “Zayn said he likes you a lot, so I have to like you too.”  Niall lets out a surprised laugh, and Louis shoos her away in embarrassment.

“Aww, my baby’s crush likes him back!” Harry squeals, tightly pinching Niall’s cheeks.

“Hawwy, thopp!  Dat hurth!” Niall strains, attempting to pry Harry’s hands off of him.

“My widdle baby’s so in wuv, yes he is–OW!” Harry yelps, his ridiculous baby talk cut short by Niall stomping on his foot.

After chasing Harry away, Niall sets his cane down, rubbing his cheeks to alleviate the pain when he feels a tap on his shoulder.  An arm extends in front of him, holding two small bags of ice.  Niall grabs them and quickly applies them to his cheeks, sighing at the cool sensation.

“Thanks, Liam,” Niall sighs, “I appreciate that.”

“I’m not Liam.”

Niall shoots his eyes open from the familiar voice, and slowly turns around.

“Wh-What are you doing here, Zayn?” Niall stammers, trying to hide behind the bags of ice.

“I invited him, Niall,” Louis says with a smirk, “Don’t mind one more guest, do you?”

Niall shakes his head and Louis walks away, helping his mum when she begins setting up the plates and silverware.  Niall slightly backs away from Zayn, embarrassed about the scene Harry caused a few minutes before.

Unsure of what to do next, Niall presses the ice bags even harder against his cheeks, and winces from the resulting sting.  A small stream of water drips down Niall’s neck, and Zayn quickly grabs a napkin from a nearby table, slowly patting the water dry.

“I don’t mean to make you nervous, you know,” Zayn says, folding up the napkin.

“No, I know,” Niall replies quietly, taking the ice bags off his face, “I’m just being careful.”

“Careful...of me?”

“Yeah, I mean, because um,” Niall struggles to find his words, “You’re a good looking guy, and I don’t exactly have a line of those waiting to hit on me.”

“Guys, lunch is ready!” Louis shouts, startling Niall and Zayn.

“Their loss,” Zayn teases with a wink, and motions for Niall to follow him back to the tables.

Niall picks up his cane and tosses the bags of ice into a rubbish bin, taking a seat at the end of the table where Zayn is already waiting for him.  There’s a small gap between them, and Niall intentionally moves closer to Zayn, the both of them smiling when their thighs brush against each other.

Louis’s family sit at the front half of the table, and the only open spaces left are across from Niall and Louis.  Liam rushes to get the seat at the end, but Harry deliberately elbows him in the stomach, winning the open seat when he slides into place before Liam.

“Oh, would you look at that,” Harry teases, “Looks like you’ll be sitting in front of Louis!”

Liam looks over his shoulder, finding Louis smiling with his head down.

“We can’t start until you take a seat,” Louis says calmly, and Liam reluctantly sits in front of him.

Mrs. Tomlinson begins the lunch and passes the food around for everyone to serve themselves.  Dishes including roast chicken, sausages, potatoes, rack of lamb, pasta primavera, and corn on the cob are among the menu.  Zayn is amused when Niall’s portions form a mountain on his plate.

“Are you seriously going to eat all of that?” Zayn asks, chewing on his pasta, “In one go?”

“I can eat a lot of things in one go,” Niall replies with a shrug, seductively licking his fork, “But obviously we’re talking about food here.”

“Don’t be bad,” Zayn blushes, lightly kicking Niall’s foot. “Not here, anyway,” whispering in Niall’s ear.

 

Lunch ends with nutella cake and vanilla bread pudding for dessert, and Mrs. Tomlinson packs up the extra batch she made just for the boys to take home.  Zayn walks the boys to their car, only to be stopped halfway when Louis yells for them to wait.

“I almost forgot to give these to you,” Louis says breathlessly, holding a small basket of plums and apricots for Liam.

Liam slowly takes the basket from Louis, and Niall notices when their hands accidentally meet.  The two boys quickly turn away from each other, as if nothing happened.

“Why were you acting so different today?” Liam asks.

“Do you really expect me to act the way I do with you in front of my family?”

“N-No, I just thought–”

“That’s nice, Liam,” Louis cuts in offended, “Thanks for thinking I’m some sort of sex-crazed maniac–I _can_ control myself, you know.”

“Louis, I didn’t say that!”

Louis shakes his head, and leads the way to their car, leaving Liam behind.  He begins a decent conversation with Harry about cherry blossoms, while Zayn and Niall walk ahead of them.  Reaching the car, Zayn gets the door for Niall like a gentleman, and Niall rolls down the window when Zayn lightly knocks on it.

“Do you want to meet up sometime?  Alone, I mean,” Zayn nervously asks, tapping his fingers on the edge of the window.

“With me?” Niall asks in shock, before shaking his head. “I mean–I’d like that,” replying with a smile.

“Great!” Zayn exclaims, grinning back at Niall.  “I’ll send you a note, yeah?”

Niall bites his lip in excitement. “I’ll be waiting for it.”

“Cool,” Zayn breathes a sigh of relief, “I’ll see you then.”

Niall places his hand on the edge of the window, sneaking a look at Harry and Liam when he quietly asks, “Can you draw another heart for me?”

Zayn smiles and takes Niall’s hand in his, turning it over to draw a heart in his palm, before placing a soft kiss on Niall’s wrist.  Niall shudders at the sensation, sending goosebumps up and down his arms.

“I can do more than that, you know,” Zayn whispers.

“And I can do more than just beg.”

–

Despite the confrontation that took place between Liam and Louis, fruit baskets were still sent to the cottage throughout the week, each containing a sealed red envelope with Liam’s name on it.  Harry insists on reading them out loud, but cannot fight back against Liam’s strength when he puts him in a headlock.

“Those are mine, Harold!  Stop reading my mail!”

Faking like he’s run out of air, Harry yelps, “So you _are_ reading his letters!”

Niall does nothing to stop the playfight and quietly snickers into his morning tea.  He drags the fruit basket full of various apples towards him when he finds another red envelope with ‘For Niall’ written neatly across the front.  Niall bites his lip, excitedly tearing open the envelope.

_Niall_

_Meet me at the farmers market on Saturday at 5.  
Can’t wait to see you again!_

_Zayn x_

“Hey, you got a note from Louis, too?” Harry asks in surprise, and gets bopped in the head by Liam with a cushion.

Niall looks up from the note with a shit-eating grin on his face.  “It’s not from Louis.”

“But... who is it from, then?” Liam asks holding his hand out to read the note.  Niall hands it over and hears his two friends gasp in unison.

“Zayn!?  Oh, we HAVE to go!  Liam, tell him he has to go!” Harry pleads. “What’s today–it’s Thursday!  We have two days to get ready for your big date!”

“What do you mean, ‘we’?  It’s not a date!” Niall protests, “Can’t two people meet somewhere to hang out?”

“That’s technically a date,” Liam says rolling his eyes.

“I hang out with you two losers all the time, what’s the difference?”

“Um, this guy saying he can’t wait to see you again!?” Harry forcefully waving the note around.

“Yeah? So?” Niall says defensively.

“Aww,” Liam coos, “Does our little Niall miss Zayn too?”

Niall buries his face in his hands to hide his smile, “Okay okay, it’s a date,” he mumbles. “But you can’t be with me if you’re going to act like a couple of dumbasses!”

–

Saturday arrives a lot quicker than expected and Niall’s been on edge since he received the note on Thursday.  The butterflies in his stomach seem to gradually multiply every time he thinks of Zayn.

Niall’s been practicing walking without his cane, taking a bit of time just trying to shuffle around his room.  He manages to get a good walking rhythm going when Harry bursts in holding a small basket of blueberries.

“Liam got another note from Louis, Niall look!”

Harry tosses the basket to him before Liam rushes in and tackles Harry onto the bed, fighting to get his daily red envelope.

“Guys come on, I just fixed my bed!”

“No!  Not ‘til I get my note back!” Liam shouts, holding Harry’s hands above his head.

“You’re gonna have to pry it out of my dead cold fingers, Payne!” Harry shouts before Liam finally snatches it out of his hands.  Harry huffs indignantly and Liam stuffs the note in his back pocket.

They climb off the bed and Niall sits down at the foot, eating the blueberries from the basket.  He feels around the edges, hoping to find another envelope, but only finds strips of paper used for padding instead.

“Niall?” Liam says softly, taking the basket from him.

“Yeah?”

“What if... remember last time with–”

“DON’T, Liam.  Just don’t,” Niall says angrily.  “That was a long time ago.  It’s done.”

A worried Harry tries to reach for Niall’s hand, but Liam drags him out of the room to leave Niall alone.

Niall flops backward onto his bed, digging his palms into his eyes.  “It won’t be like last time,” he tells himself.  Zayn was different, he couldn’t possibly treat Niall that way.

–

The boys walk to the farmers market, located in the village square.  Rows of tents line the square, turning it into a labyrinth.  Unsure of what to do, they begin walking around and hope Zayn will pop up somewhere.

“Did Zayn say where he would be?” Liam asks.

“The note just said to meet here at 5, I honestly don’t know how he’ll find us,” Niall says looking around apprehensively.

“What if we just stand in the middle of the market and shout his name out?” Harry says with a laugh.  Niall playfully shoves him and the boys continue walking before Harry gleefully makes a run for it to a certain tent.

“Harry, wait up!” Liam shouts, jogging after him.  Niall follows as quickly as he can, catching up behind Liam just several feet away.

Niall’s catching his breath when he reads the hanging sign: “Tomlinson Farms”.  He looks ahead to find Harry helping Louis set crates of fruits and vegetables onto the table in front of them, before walking back to join Niall and Liam.

“Hey guys!” Louis says with a bright smile, “Nice to see you could make it tonight.”

“Yeah, just thought we’d hang out for the rest of the day,” Niall replies, nudging Liam to say something.

“D-Definitely,” Liam stammers. “Hanging out...”

Louis softly chuckles and proceeds to organize the items on his table. “Of course you are.  Are you here to buy my produce, Liam?”

“The only reason he woke up today,” Harry jokes.

“He wants the juiciest fruits you have right now actually,” Niall adds with a laugh and Liam is blushing hard.

“Well then,” he says with a smirk. “I think I have just what he needs.”  Louis reaches into his back pocket and brandishes a switchblade in front Liam.

“Louis! Please don’t–” Louis holds up his other hand to silence Liam.  He grabs a peach and slices a few wedges with the sharp blade.

Niall and Harry watch in amusement as Liam is suddenly feeling breathless by this act.  Louis holds the sliced peach in front of Liam, letting the fruit’s juices drip down between his fingers.  He slowly eats a wedge and purposely lets a bit of peach juice run down the side of his mouth.

Louis raises his hand to wipe off the mess, but Liam absentmindedly stops him, using his own thumb instead to slowly wipe the juice away, and rubs it between Louis’s lips.  They snap out of their trance when Louis pushes Liam’s hands away and walks back to his truck behind the tent, leaving Liam confused.

“That was insanely hot,” Harry whispers in Niall’s ear. “Keep it in the spank bank,” Niall whispers back in agreement.

“What have I done,” Liam quietly says with an uneasy expression, looking at his hand as if it were completely alien to him.

Louis walks back to the table, slamming a crate of lettuce loud enough to frighten everyone around them. “You weren’t supposed to do that,” Louis whispers with a growl. “You weren’t–this never happens–” he stammers, clearly rattled when he looks up at Liam.

“I couldn’t help myself, I’m sorry!” Liam says in a panic, “I had to do it.”

“Get out before I regret something else, Liam,” Louis demands, “I have work to do.”

Louis walks back to his truck and Liam slowly puts his head down, unsure of where else to go.  Niall reaches for Liam’s back, and abruptly walks away when he tells Niall and Harry he needs to be alone.

“Is everything okay?” someone asks behind them.

The two turn around to find Zayn standing behind them with a slight smile.  “Zayn!” Harry squeals, “Come to take my baby on a date?”

“Yes, Mr. Harry,” Zayn replies, winking at Niall. “I intend to take care of him for the night.”

“Let me lay down some ground rules then.  No kissing, no touching, no hand–OW!” Harry yelps the arm Niall pinched.

“Prick!” Niall says behind his teeth, “Go find Liam!”, grabbing Zayn and quickly walking away.

“Bring him back in one piece!” Harry shouts and Niall walks even faster.

 

Niall and Zayn reach the other side of the village square when they stop in front of the church facing the market.

“Sorry about that, Harry doesn’t know when to shut up sometimes,” Niall says catching his breath against a wall.

“I thought it was funny,” Zayn laughs. “Are you sure–oh,” he pauses.  “No cane tonight?”

Niall looks down at his knee, then back at Zayn with a raised eyebrow. “Plan on chasing me all night?”

“Something like that,” Zayn steps closer towards Niall, pushing his body against the church wall. “Maybe make you lose your breath a few times before I take you back home.”

Zayn leans in to kiss Niall’s neck, but quickly pulls him away and into a secluded corridor within the church.  It’s dark, but the beams of light from the sunset hit the open windows above, illuminating their faces.

Niall walks backwards into a wall and Zayn follows, pressing their bodies against each other, and kissing down Niall’s neck.  He closes his eyes and lets out a soft moan, running his hands down Zayn’s back, and Zayn simply holds Niall’s hips in place.

“I have been waiting all week to get my hands on you,” Zayn growls in Niall’s ear.

“I didn’t know you put out on the first date,” Niall replies breathlessly, holding on to Zayn’s shoulders, “You should have warned me.”

“I don’t,” Zayn laughs into Niall’s neck, “I’m giving you special treatment.”

Zayn kisses his way up to Niall’s cheek, barely grazing his lips, before working his way down Niall’s neck again.  The feeling of Zayn’s lips all over him and his warm hands moving under his shirt sends Niall’s senses into overload.

“Zayn, are we–” Niall gulps. “Are we allowed to do this,” he gasps at his adam’s apple being licked. “Here, in a church?”

“Not up for desecrating the house of God?” he asks in amusement, softly kissing Niall’s lips.  “I’ll confess every sinful deed to the priest when we’re done.”

“This place will melt before you even start.”

Zayn snickers and plants a kiss on Niall’s chin before unbuttoning his polo shirt to kiss the dip between his collarbone.  Niall gasps when he hears a crowd of people talking loudly towards the church.  He tries to stop Zayn, but the eager gamekeeper resists, and presses their bodies even closer.

“We have to–” pushing Zayn away from his neck. “Zayn, there are people–” Zayn sucks on the skin between Niall’s neck and shoulders. “You need to– _oh my god_ ,” Niall shudders when his hips are lifted upward, feeling Zayn’s thigh rub between his legs.

“Please,” he whimpers softly, and Zayn finally stops.

“Take my hand,” Zayn whispers.  Niall nods and the two link hands, quickly running out of the church.  They laugh loudly across the village square and into the dark pathways behind the market.

–

Zayn and Niall spend the rest of the evening in the outskirts of the village, walking and talking around the hills and barely driven pathways.  Niall feels the back of Zayn’s hand brush against his, and smiles when they link hands again.

“Have you ever made it out to London before?” Niall asks.

“A few times, yeah.  Mostly with Louis when he makes deliveries.”

“I thought you worked for your parents?”

“I just shoot pheasants, do handy work, help Louis with his farming,” he pauses for a moment, then leans in to whisper in Niall’s ear, “and flirt with the cute new blond boy in town.”

Niall can’t hide his smile and Zayn guides him towards a nearby wooden fence, slowly pushing Niall against it.  Niall’s body loosens up when Zayn puts his hands on his waist, and he responds by resting his hands on Zayn’s shoulders.

“How long will you be staying here, in the village?”

“Oh, so quick to get rid of me!” Niall teases, and Zayn laughs, rolling his eyes. “I’m not sure, to be honest, I kinda just checked off ‘sick leave’ at work and that was it.”

“I want you to stay as long as possible,” Zayn says biting his lip slowly. “I don’t meet a lot of people who... who feel the same.”

Niall slightly pushes Zayn away, giving him an incredulous look. “Nonsense, I’m sure everyone wanted to be with you.”

Zayn shakes his head and gives a shy smile. “I’ve been with other people, but,” he pauses, lightly rubbing Niall’s sides with his hands, “There’s something that draws me to you and wants to make you happy.”

Niall feels his cheeks getting warm, and brings Zayn closer to him.  “Do you dream of moving away from here?” he asks, “Exploring what else is in store for you?” looking into Zayn’s eyes for a response.

Zayn leans in and whispers, “I’d like to explore the boy in front of me.”  He softly nuzzles his nose against Niall’s, who lets out a soft sigh in response to the sensation. “I really want to kiss you again.”

Niall pulls Zayn into a rough kiss, unable to control himself.  Niall tightly grips Zayn’s hair and Zayn tightens his arms around Niall, their bodies nearly fusing together.  Their teeth clash against each other, and their tongues roughly fight for dominance, both unknowingly holding their breaths by the impact.

Zayn breaks away first, and Niall gasps for air.  “It’s getting pretty late,” Zayn says breathlessly. “I should take you home.”

“Can’t stay past curfew?” Niall bats his eyelashes playfully.

“I would if I could,” kissing Niall on the nose. “But I have an early day tomorrow.”

Niall nods his head and gives him another quick kiss before they head back to the village square.  What once was full of people is now sparsely scattered with vendors packing up their things.

Zayn guides him towards the parking lot and into his black truck.  The truck’s height normally wouldn’t be a problem for Niall, but with his bad knee Zayn gives him a boost, purposely holding on to Niall’s backside for a good amount of time.

The ride back was fairly short, but enjoyable when Zayn put his hand on Niall’s thigh throughout.  When they reach the cottage, Zayn turns off the engine and reaches over to hold Niall’s hand.

“Thanks for meeting me tonight,” he says with a smile, “I didn’t think you’d see the note in Louis’s basket.”

Niall laughs and points out, “Harry usually finds it first, it’s embarrassing how much he wants to read what Louis says.”

“It doesn’t just say, ‘To Liam, Love Louis’?” Zayn asks surprisingly.

“The first one certainly didn’t,” he replies. “You don’t read the notes?”

Zayn shakes his head. “Louis doesn’t keep secrets, but I just don’t want to know,” he says with a shrug.

“I’ll keep that in mind when Liam gets another note.”

“Can we do this again?” Zayn asks rubbing his thumb on Niall’s wrist, the sensation making him bite his lip.

“What, talk in your truck?” he replies cheekily.

“I take that as a yes, then?”

Niall leans forward and kisses Zayn, making it slower and intimate compared to the rough and hot kiss they shared earlier.  Zayn moves closer and cups Niall’s face to kiss him even deeper.  Niall’s softly moaning into his mouth, wanting to feel Zayn’s lips on his for the rest of the night.

“BOO!”

The two jump and find Harry leaning into the open window on Niall’s side with a big smile on his face.  “So did I miss the handjob?”

“Are you fucking serious, Harry?  Get back in the house!”

“Sorry, Harry,” Zayn leans over, wagging his finger. “No free shows in this truck.”

Niall groans in frustration and Zayn giggles, lightly squeezing Niall’s thigh.  “I’ll see you next time, yeah?” Niall nods and Zayn gives him one last quick kiss.

Niall pulls the handle with Harry backing away, and deliberately slams the door open into him, the mere force of it throws Harry backwards onto the ground.

“Argh!! Is this because I said no handjobs!?” Harry yells out, getting up to clean himself off.

“Get back in the house!” Niall yells closing the door and Harry runs back inside yelling for Liam to help him.

Zayn’s laughing when he starts up his truck and blows a kiss to Niall, who playfully catches it and blows a kiss back.  Zayn sticks his hand out to wave goodbye as he drives off and Niall holds up his hand until the truck is gone.

–

Niall wakes up in the morning with a smile on his face, happier than he’s ever been.  He washes up in the bathroom and finds Loki waiting for him when he opens the door. They head to the kitchen where Niall finds Liam hunched over the dining table, writing on a small notepad.

“Morning, Liam,” Niall says out loud, heading for the kettle.

Loki barks at his owner and Liam jumps in surprise, quickly hiding various papers onto the chair next to him.  “Uh, morning, Niall.”

Niall pretends not to notice Liam’s anxiety and asks, “Got a basket from Louis again?” tossing a tea bag into his mug, pouring the hot water after.

“Yeah... it’s got strawberries now,” Liam says with a nervous laugh.  “He grows everything,” he adds with wide eyes.

Niall notes Liam’s strange laugh and sits down in front of him.  Liam slides a small red envelope towards Niall, and his face immediately lights up when he recognizes Zayn’s clean handwriting.

“Oh, I didn’t read it, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I know you better than that, Liam,” Niall scoffs, playing with the envelope.

“Thanks,” Liam chuckles. “I reckon you had a good time last night?”

“It was pretty great... until Harry showed up,” he replies rolling his eyes.

Liam reaches out for his friend’s arm, giving Niall a concerned look.  “Is Zayn all right?  No funny business?”

Niall looks down at his mug, contemplating the past few weeks with Zayn.  Nobody had ever really shown interest in him for a while, at least not to his knowledge, and he intentionally avoided being with someone (scratch that, _anyone_ ) after the events of his previous relationship.

So what was it about Zayn that made him feel so different?  Niall spent so much time being wary of Zayn’s advances, he felt he had nothing to offer–and yet Zayn was willing to give him a chance.  A chance to feel like someone needed him again.

“Liam, I know you’re concerned, and I don’t blame you.  But I’ve been so careful getting closer to Zayn this whole time,” he pauses, running his finger along the edge of his mug.  “I feel like I don’t deserve Zayn, but when I look at him... he’s the only person I want to be with.”

Liam smiles and leans in to hug Niall, rubbing his back to let him know he understands.  “You deserve him more than you know, Niall,” Liam says earnestly, sitting back in his chair when they let go.

Niall’s about to open his letter from Zayn when he pauses to look around the room.  “Wait.  Harry usually finds the basket first,” he says in a suspicious tone.

“Harry was complaining about you slamming the car door into him last night.”

“Zayn and I were in the middle of a very important conversation!”

“Yeah well, I switched his ibuprofen with sleeping pills instead,” he snickers holding up a small bottle of melatonin.  “He’s been out cold the whole night!”

Niall cackles at Liam’s bravery and cackles even harder when Harry lazily walks into the room mumbling for tea, crashing into the fridge to get to the kettle.  Liam quickly puts the sleeping pills into the pocket of his sweats, and tightly grips the chair where he placed all of his papers.

“Have a good night’s sleep, Harry?” Liam asks holding back a smile.

Harry yawns throwing a tea bag into his mug. “Like a baby,” he says scratching his head walking back to the table.  He notices the basket of strawberries and glares at Liam when he realizes there isn’t a note in there for him to steal.

“You win this time,” mumbling from behind his cup.

The boys are distracted when the house phone rings loudly and Liam stands up to get it.  Harry saunters off to watch television and Niall quickly tears open his envelope.

_Niall_

_Last night was great, I can’t wait to see you again.  
Call the Estates when you can – the greenhouse is ours._

_Zayn x_

Niall bites his lips and closes his eyes, holding the note to his chest as if Zayn’s essence could transfer into his body at that very moment.  He begins to think about the meaning of the greenhouse– _“Plants? Is Zayn a botanist too? What else is he not telling me?_ ”–before Liam interrupts his train of thought.

“Mr. Malik’s invited us to go shooting with a few friends later today!  I said we’d go, since we won’t be doing anything anyway.”

“But Liam!” Harry yells from the living room. “We don’t know how to shoot!”

Niall sits up, immediately adding, “It’ll be fun! And Mrs. Malik will probably have food waiting for us when we’re done.”

“Eager to see Zayn?” Liam whispers with a smirk.

Niall smiles and whispers back, “Eager to see Louis?”

Liam’s eyes go wide and immediately puts his head down. “I think I embarrassed him last night.”

“What did you–oh!” Niall gasps, recalling their incident. “The... the thing where you–”

“I didn’t know what I was doing!” Liam says panic-stricken, “It was just there, dripping down his mouth and I...”  Niall reaches over to Liam’s shoulder to comfort him.

“God! He makes me so nervous when he does all those things to me,” he says rubbing his temples, “but last night... I don’t know what came over me.  We talked it over, but I’m just not sure what to think.”

“You let your guard down when he least expected it.”

“I was at my weakest, Niall,” Liam whispers, “And for some reason, reaching out for Louis felt like the only thing that would make me stronger.”

–

The trio stand in the gun room of Malik Estates, a small nook adjacent to the living room of the mansion.  Mr. Malik and Zayn take out several shotguns from wooden cabinets with glass windows, along with boxes of shotgun cartridges and earplugs.

Niall stares at Zayn, intrigued by his swift work manner of wiping the guns and cleaning the barrels.  Niall’s never seen Zayn work so meticulously, but then again, he’s never seen Zayn shoot a gun before.

Niall continues to stare until Harry gets in his line of vision, continually pacing back and forth, fixing his hair.

“Are you all right, Harry?” Mr. Malik asks concerned.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Malik, but you don’t understand–none of us how to shoot,” Harry whines.

“Don’t worry, that’s why Zayn will be teaching you today,” he replies, patting Zayn’s back. “He’s a great teacher, you have nothing to worry about!” and excuses himself to join the other guests outside.

Zayn hands each of the boys a box of cartridges, a pair of earplugs, and their own gun.  When Zayn holds a gun for Harry to take, he asks, “Are you scared of guns or are you just scared one of us might shoot you?”

“I am not scared of anything!” Harry scoffs, taking the gun from Zayn. “I could have a criminal record, you know.”

“Criminal record of leaving your bottles of lubricant everywhere,” Liam sarcastically adds.

“Shut up, you’re just too damn proud to admit you need it!” Harry shouts, and the two begin arguing.

Zayn pulls Niall aside from the spectacle, and slowly pushes him against one of the cabinets. “Thanks for coming, by the way,” he says, giving Niall a light kiss on the chin, “I told Dad to invite you, I knew you’d come.”

“Do you really think I’ll always come for you?” Niall asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t come for just anyone–” Zayn stops, feeling a pair of arms wrap around himself and Niall.

“Hi,” Harry says seductively, nuzzling his face in between Zayn and Niall, “Just wanted to join in on the lovefest.”

“Ugh!” Niall exclaims, pushing Harry away. “Every time I try to have a moment with Zayn, you always interrupt!”

“Excuse my perfect timing, Niall!”

“Hey, can we please go and shoot something now!?” Liam shouts, his voice booming across the room.

Harry and Niall are the first to leave, followed by Liam, but Zayn holds out an arm to stop him.  “We’re doing this in partners and yours isn’t ready.”

“I have a partner?” Liam asks in confusion. “Who is it?”

Zayn puts his arm down and Liam feels someone breeze past him.

“Me,” Louis says cocking his shotgun and putting it over his shoulder. “I’m ready to blow off some fucking steam.”

Liam gapes at Louis walking away confidently and whispers, “This was a bad idea.”

Zayn leads the boys far enough away from the house but is close enough to keep an eye on his dad and his guests, who are already shooting on a different side of the field.  Zayn puts his gun on the ground, and sets up a contraption nearby.

Zayn begins by explaining gun safety before teaching the trio the art of clay pigeon shooting.  The spring-loaded trap Zayn had set up earlier housed orange inverted saucers, known as “targets”, designed to fly long distances, and were weak enough to shatter via shotgun pellets.  The trap holding the targets were released via a remote device held by Zayn, but only when prompted by the word “pull”.

The three boys line up next to each other with Zayn and Louis teaching them how to position their bodies when handling the guns–Niall blatantly asking Zayn to position his body from behind–and how to use the barrel as a means to track the targets.  When they finally get into the rhythm of handling their guns, Zayn and Louis proceed with a demonstration.

“If you’ll all put on your earplugs, we can begin,” Louis instructs everyone, while Zayn runs back to the spring-loaded trap.

Louis positions himself and his gun into a proper stance, yelling, “Pull!”, when Zayn lets the first target fly.  He waits a second, tracking the target with his gun.  Louis then pulls the trigger, immediately shattering the target.

“Hah!” Louis exclaims, putting his gun down, “Still got it.”

“I’m not so sure we can do this,” Harry says uncertain, “You make it look easy.”

“Harry, don’t you want a gun that feels like an extension of your own penis?” Louis says sliding his hand down the barrel.  Louis’s body is facing in Liam’s direction, but he isn’t directly looking at him for a response.  Niall and Zayn both roll their eyes and Liam scratches his head looking away.

“Penis references aside,” Zayn cuts in, picking up his own gun, “I think we could do another demonstration?”

Louis nods and Zayn hands the remote device to him, loading his gun with the cartridges.  When he’s done, he turns around to position his body and holds up two fingers for Louis.  Louis nods and immediately pulls a target.

Rather than a single target, two fly out instead.  Within a split second, two shots ring through the air, and each of the targets shatter on contact.  Zayn puts his gun down and the trio begin clapping at his sharp shooting skills.

“Show off,” Louis says with a smirk, handing the remote device back to Zayn.

Zayn looks over to Niall and smugly replies, “Only for Niall.”  Niall overhears Zayn’s statement and looks away with a smile on his face.

Suddenly, the trap lets a target fly without Zayn touching the remote device.  Liam quickly runs between the two friends yelling, “I’ve got it!”, and pulls the trigger–but no shots ring out.

Everyone looks at Liam in surprise, while Louis is the only one standing with his arms crossed.  “It would help if your gun was loaded,” he says flatly.

Trying to brush off his mistake, Liam puts the gun down, and opens the hinge to find the barrels empty. “I knew that,” turning around to scoff in Louis’s face. “I was just practicing with my eyes.”

“Right... because I’m sure you know _everything_ ,” Louis says, rolling his eyes.

“Oh really?  Because you acted just as stupid when you sliced that peach in front of me,” Liam spits out.  Harry and Niall’s mouths drop open from Liam’s attitude.

Louis stands up straighter and points his finger at Liam’s chest. “You bastard, I thought you forgave me for that!” he says, gritting his teeth. “And how _dare_ you bring that up in front of our friends like this, who the hell do you think you are?”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Zayn asks loudly, looking at Niall for an answer.

“I don’t know,” Liam says curtly, loading his gun with cartridges. “But we’ll find out soon enough,” and closes the hinge shut with a firm grip on the gun.

“Shoot me, Liam!  I fucking dare you!” Louis shouts, before he pushes Liam’s gun away to try and punch him.

“No!” Harry immediately jumps in between them to stop the fight. “Guys, please!” he shouts, “Shoot the targets, not your dicks!”

“You get out of my way, Harry!” Louis demands, struggling to get to Liam.

“No!  I won’t let you hurt Liam!”

“Come near me and you’ll regret it, Louis,” Liam threatens.

“You’re going to regret ever coming here today, I swear to–”

BOOM! A gunshot rings through the air, bringing the fight to a halt.

“Enough!” Niall shouts, holding his gun in an upturned position with smoke coming out of the barrels.

“We’re done,” Zayn says. “Give me your gun and get back to the house.”

“But Zayn–”

“Don’t argue with me, Louis!”

Louis tosses his gun at Zayn, and gives Liam a disappointed look before walking back to the house in a huff.

“You too, Liam.  Hand it over.”

Liam puts his head down, and opens the hinge of the gun, letting the cartridges fall to the ground.

“I’m sorry I ruined everyone’s day.”

“Come on,” Harry drapes an arm around Liam’s waist, “Let’s get back to the house.”

–

Just as Niall predicted, Mrs. Malik had prepared food for everyone after they’d finished their shooting activities.  The boys quietly eat their lunch in the dining room, but the tension was too strong, even for Mrs. Malik.

“Zayn, did something happen out there earlier?” she asks, “Your dad said he heard you guys shouting.”

“Um, uh,” Zayn stumbles on his words, “No, why do you ask?”

“I’m feeling a lot of negative energy, it’s not sitting well with me.”

Louis immediately stands up from his seat, startling everyone. “That’s my fault, Mrs. Malik,” he admits, “If Liam could join me in the other room, I can resolve it.”

Liam immediately shakes his head, but Niall kicks his chair, forcing him to go. “If you don’t take care of this, I will,” he threatens, and Liam stands up, reluctantly following Louis out of the room.

“Mum?” Zayn says, clearing his throat, “I’m just going to show Niall around the back garden now.”

“Okay, darling, have fun,” she replies with a smile, and continues eating her lunch.

Zayn grabs Niall’s hand, quickly leaving the house towards the back garden and into a small, glass encased shed.  He guides Niall inside, who slowly walks to the end of it, with Zayn following close behind, and stops when he leans back against an empty table.

“So this is the elusive greenhouse you mentioned,” Niall says, waving his hand around. “You didn’t bring me out here to see the plants, did you?”

Zayn grins and puts his hands on both sides of Niall, slightly trapping him against the table.  “Of course I wanted to show you the plants,” he whispers against Niall’s neck. “Look at how these grapevines cover the window.”

Still in Zayn’s trap, Niall turns around and bends over slightly.  He reaches to touch a few leaves, purposely moving his backside lightly to rub against Zayn’s crotch. “Oh, they cover up quite well,” Niall replies, “Maybe I should bring my boyfriend here one day.”

“Hmm, do I know your boyfriend?”

Niall sticks his backside out a little more, and feeling Zayn press against him he replies, “He’s a tall, lusty Englishman... got jet black hair, hazel eyes, and a mouth I want to suck on for days.  Do I know yours?”

“Oh, he’s this pale, horny Irishman with icy blue eyes, kind of cackles when he laughs... and he’s an amazing kisser.”

“Sounds like a catch,” Niall giggles.

Zayn leans in closer and slowly runs his hand under Niall’s shirt, pulling his weight towards him to kiss the back of Niall’s neck.  Niall turns around and wraps his arms around Zayn’s neck and the two begin kissing, softly moaning into each other’s mouths.  Zayn lifts Niall by the hips to get better leverage on the table and positions himself between Niall’s legs.

Niall moves his hands to grip Zayn’s biceps and begins to kiss down his chest.  Zayn slides his hand to rub the crotch of Niall’s jeans and he moans, tilting his head back.

“We _are_ together, aren’t we?” Zayn asks, his breath hot on Niall’s neck. “I just want to know you’re mine.”

Niall lets out a breathless laugh, cupping Zayn’s face. “You don’t need to ask to know I’m already yours,” and kisses him, feeling a smile against Zayn’s lips.

Zayn begins unbuttoning Niall’s jeans and slides his hand over Niall’s underwear, feeling the out line of his hard cock.  He slips his hand underneath the elastic band, slowly stroking Niall.  Niall’s moaning from Zayn’s touch and his body is going haywire from the strong hold Zayn’s got on him.

Zayn begins stroking a little faster, tightening and loosening his grip while kissing Niall all over.  Niall grips Zayn’s arms a little tighter, leaning into Zayn’s chest to cover up his moans against him when he finally comes in Zayn’s hand.  Zayn grabs a small towel nearby to clean themselves off before Niall buttons himself back up.

Niall intends to repay Zayn for his lovely handy work, and pushes him against the table to lie down, unbuttoning Zayn’s jeans while kissing his stomach.  Zayn lifts up his hips for Niall, slipping the layers of clothes down his thighs and leaves light kisses against Zayn’s cock.  Zayn covers his mouth with his arm and moans into it, the sensation driving him over the edge.

Niall begins kissing the head of Zayn’s cock to tease him before slowly sliding his mouth down as far as he can handle.  Zayn arches his back and slips his free hand onto Niall’s bobbing head, lightly gripping his hair, unable to control how many times he repeats Niall’s name in ecstasy.  Niall grips Zayn’s thighs, dragging his nails across the length, and feels them tighten when he comes in Niall’s mouth.

Zayn lies still for a moment before he sits up to redress himself, pulling Niall into a kiss before they walk out of the greenhouse together.

“Think there’ll still be food left when we go inside?” Niall asks.

Zayn bursts out laughing, “You just sucked the hell out of my cock and you’re still hungry?”

“You’re a tasty guy, but I need more than just your proteins,” he replies playfully rubbing his stomach.  Zayn bites Niall’s neck in retaliation and Niall yelps, breaking away from Zayn who chases him across the back garden.  Niall stops running when he suddenly gasps and grips his knee.

“Niall?  Niall, what’s wrong?”

The pain went from pins and needles to a bloated sensation that overwhelms Niall and he ends up falling to the ground.  Zayn panics and leans over Niall, trying to hold him back up. “Talk to me, say something!”

“Oh fuck, I can’t–it hurts too much,” Niall strains holding his knee to his chest. “I can’t make it back to the house–I can’t,” he repeats, gasping for air.

“I’ll carry you, I can do it,” Zayn says as he drapes Niall’s arm around his neck, and positions his hands under Niall’s thighs and lower back to lift him off the ground toward the house.

Zayn shouts for the remaining boys when he gets inside, all three rushing in to find Niall crying out from pain.

“Call for help, I can’t leave him like this!” Zayn shouts as he lays Niall down on a nearby sofa.  Louis runs to the phone while Harry and Liam try to calm Niall down who’s writhing on the couch, holding his knee to his chest again.

“I can’t–” he gasps, putting his hand to Zayn’s chest, “Please don’t leave me.”

“I won’t leave you,” Zayn responds, tightly holding on to Niall’s hand, “I promise.”

Niall lets out a sob from the pain, tightly closing his eyes to see the kaleidoscope of colors behind his eyelids until it fades to black.

–

Niall wakes up with blurred vision, sitting up to let his eyes adjust to the dimly lit room.

“Where am I?” he rubs his eyes trying to recognize his surroundings.

A hand creeps up to lightly touch his arm and Niall gasps. “You’re in your bedroom.”

“Zayn,” Niall sighs and lies back down. “What happened?”

“We called your doctor and he had to sedate you to stop you from flailing around.” Zayn sits on the side of the bed, moving the stray hairs away from Niall’s forehead. “A cyst formed on the side of your knee and he had to drain it out.”

Niall groans and turns over to bury his face in his pillow. “I can’t fucking believe this, just when I thought I was getting better.”

“Hey,” Zayn rubs Niall’s hip. “We’re all going to help you, I promise.”

Niall repositions himself to lay his head on Zayn’s lap.  Zayn leans over and grabs a small bottle next to the bedside lamp, holding it out for Niall. “The sedatives are wearing off, so I think you’ll be okay to take these pills.”

Sitting up, he takes the bottle and holds Zayn’s hand, playing with his fingers. “Thank you,” he softly says, “For helping me.”

Zayn smiles and squeezes Niall’s hand. “I did it for you.”

“Hey, um, you didn’t tell anyone about what happened before, did you?” Niall asks a little tense.

Zayn’s eyes widen and he promptly shakes his head. “I just told everyone we were walking around.  I really hope my hand didn’t give you that bad knee,” he says, sticking his tongue out slightly.

“I think your hands may have healing powers,” Niall laughs, drinking his pills.  He keeps his head down when he’s done, and nervously says, “Stay with me.  Just for the night.”

Zayn lifts Niall’s head and softly kisses him.  “I’ll stay for as long as you like,” he whispers against his lips, and crawls under the covers to join Niall.

–

Niall wakes up the next morning to an empty bed, the painkillers making him wonder if Zayn really did spend the night.  He places his hand over the area where Zayn would have been, and but it gives him no answers.  Sitting up, he finds a note folded in half next to the lamp on his bedside table.

_Niall_

_Had to go home – will be back as soon as I can._

_Zayn x_

A light knock on the door echoes through the room and Niall puts the note away.  “Come in,” he beckons, and Harry pokes his head inside.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” he says with a smile, entering the room with a tray of food and Loki following behind. “I, your best friend, have made you breakfast in bed!”

“Aww Harry, you shouldn’t have!” Niall says with affection, trying to get out of bed.  “But you’ve got to let me shake the weasel before I eat.”

Harry snorts then sets the tray down on the nearby dresser, helping Niall balance himself to walk to the bathroom down the hall.  When Niall’s done, Harry helps him back into bed and sets the food down in front of him.

“Eat,” Harry commands, holding a piece of toast to Niall’s mouth. “You can’t keep taking all those painkillers on an empty stomach.”

Niall grabs the toast and Harry pats a spot on the bed for Loki to sit.  Harry’s scratching Loki’s ears for what seems to be a minute when Niall lets rip a huge belch.

“Jesus, I didn’t think you’d finish it _that_ fast!” Harry laughs.

“It was delicious Harry, thank you,” Niall says giving him a wet kiss on the cheek.

Harry giggles and wipes his cheek before handing Niall his pills to drink.  “Your doctor ordered something stronger for you, Liam and Louis are picking it up right now.”  Niall grabs the bottle and sighs before he drinks them.

“How are Liam and Louis, by the way?  Did they talk it out when Zayn and I left?”

“They’re okay now, I guess.  Kind of hard to tell for sure, but I know sexual frustration when I see it, Niall,” Harry says with a wink, “I’ve always had a keen eye for that sort of thing.”

“You see a lot of things, Harry,” Niall scoffs.

“Hey, um...what happened yesterday–before your knee went out, I mean?” Harry softly asks.

“Zayn was–we were–um,” Niall struggles to refrain from mentioning the tryst against the grapevines.  Harry tilts his head, waiting for the rest of Niall’s answer.  “Zayn and I... we’re together now.”

Harry’s eyes go wide and he gasps, “Oh Niall, finally!”, pulling his friend into a tight hug.  “Does he make you happy?” he asks letting go of him.

Niall’s taken aback by Harry’s genuine comment, expecting a salacious remark to follow.  But he smiles wide and Harry pokes his cheek when Niall nods his head.

“You deserve to be happy, it’s been a while.  He won’t be like–well, it’ll be better than last time.”

“Yeah,” Niall laughs, “It’s already better than last time.”

“Hey.”

Harry and Niall look up to find Zayn standing in the doorway holding a duffel bag.

“The front door was open, mind if me and Louis crash here for a few days?” Zayn asks with a smile.  He bends down to pet Loki when the puppy jumps off the bed towards him.

“Oh Zayn!” Harry yells and runs to pull Zayn into a tight hug.  Zayn stumbles back into the door, his arms immobilized by Harry’s strength. “Niall told me you’re together now, I’m so happy for you!”

“Hah, thanks Harry–CHRIST, you’re really strong, you know that?” Zayn says struggling to dislodge from Harry’s death grip.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Harry sternly says. “You break my baby’s heart and I’ll squeeze you in half with my thighs–right, Loki?” His threatening tone prompting the puppy to growl loudly.

“You break him,” Niall stands up, “And I’ll break _you_.”

“Please,” Zayn squeaks still trying to push Harry off of him, “I’m–can’t...breathe!”

“No, just a little longer–ARGH!”  All three boys are sandwiched on the floor, Niall having tackled Harry who fell over on top of Zayn.

“I make you breakfast and this is how you repay me!?” Harry yells as he attempts to crawl away from Niall spanking his bottom, and Zayn finally gasping for air.

“Since you won’t let me put your boyfriend in a chokehold,” Harry says getting up to grab the breakfast tray, “I’m going to be a good little boy and wash the dishes and walk the dog.  Come on, Loki.”

Niall remains by Zayn’s side, waiting until Harry and Loki are out of sight.  Zayn cleans himself off when he stands up, and Niall whines holding his hands out, waiting for Zayn to pick him up.  Zayn brings Niall to his feet, and immediately throws him over his shoulder, only to toss him back onto the bed.

Zayn climbs over Niall, lifting his shirt and leaving hot, wet kisses down his stomach.  He reaches the elastic band of Niall’s underwear, and quickly slides them down Niall’s legs, tossing it over his shoulder.  Without a moment’s notice, Zayn’s mouth instantly envelops Niall’s cock, leaving him gasping in response to the sensation.

Niall grips Zayn’s bobbing head, the smooth motion of his mouth rendering Niall speechless when he tries to protest.

“Not when–” he chokes and takes a deep breath. “Not when Harry’s still here–” and Niall’s cry is cut off by Zayn’s hand crawling over his face to tightly cover his mouth.

Zayn works his mouth at a steady speed, and goes even faster when he hears Niall’s muffled moans against his hand.

“Okay guys, I’m leaving!” Harry yells, and Niall can feel himself getting closer to the edge, gripping Zayn’s hair even harder.  Niall struggles to keep his moans at a low volume, and upon hearing Harry shut the front door, he comes in Zayn’s mouth.

Zayn cleans him off, and giggles when he hovers over his boyfriend, slowly unhinging his hand from Niall’s mouth.  Niall’s still gasping for air, and can barely muster out, “Don’t _ever_ fucking do that again,” before returning the favor for Zayn.

–

The cottage almost morphs into a makeshift fraternity for the next few weeks with Zayn and Louis spending their nights there, drinking and laughing with the boys until they all randomly fall asleep in different parts of the house.

Zayn respects Niall’s wishes of pursuing his flesh when no one was home–mostly to avoid getting hassled by Harry–but Niall particularly enjoyed it when he satisfied Zayn on the swing under the cottage’s oak tree in broad daylight.  It was pretty genius–Zayn stood on the swing, holding on to the ropes that kept it in place, and Niall ravenously sucked Zayn’s cock until the trees branches shook hard enough to shower them with loose leaves.

 

Niall wakes up one morning with his knee feeling worse for wear.  Zayn’s not in bed with him, but his heart flutters a little when he sees a note left for him on the pillow.  He gets up and stumbles into the dresser, accidentally knocking down two prescription bottles that burst open when they fall to the floor.

“Shit!” he whispers to himself, quickly cleaning up the mess.  “Christ, couldn’t they make these pills different colors?”  Niall stares at the white tablets in his hand, unsure of which medication is what, but swallows a few anyway to keep the pain in his knee at bay.

Niall slowly shuffles into the dining room to find Harry preparing breakfast.

“Ooh, you look like shit,” Harry says, noting Niall’s unkempt state.

“Good morning to you too, Harry,” Niall replies mockingly.

“Aw I’m sorry, Niall.  You just look a little messy today.”

Niall grumbles and walks to the fridge, opening the freezer and sticking his head inside.  “Nice and cool in here,” he sighs.

Harry quickly runs to his side, guiding Niall to sit at the table instead. “Niall, what’s wrong?  Have you got a fever?” He tries to put his hand to Niall’s forehead but is swatted away.

“I’m... _fiiiine_ ,” Niall says with a prolonged slur.  He holds up his hand and begins snapping his fingers, looking in amazement at what he can do.  “It’s like my hand is moving in slow motion,” he says blankly staring at his moving fingers.

“You’re scaring me,” Harry says backing away. “Why are you acting like this?”

“Acting like what?” Niall begins giggling. “I’m just,” he holds up his hand to Harry, “snapping my fingers.”

“Did you take your medication?  Do you want breakfast?”

“Maybe you should just fuck off!” Niall screams with laughter.  “I took,” he begins counting his fingers until he stops. “Six pills.  Six and I feel great.”

Harry stares at his friend in absolute shock, and begins panicking when he realizes he doesn’t know what to do.  Niall begins pounding his fists on the table and laughs uncontrollably when Liam enters the kitchen.

“Liam!” Harry shouts trying to hold Niall’s hands down. “Liam, come help me!”

“No, let me go, Harry!” Niall struggles against his friend and stops flailing when Liam subdues him.

“What happened?” Liam demands to know, “Why does he keep laughing?”

“He went over the dosage of his medication, I don’t know what to do!”

Niall stops laughing and his breathing becomes rapid. “He’s here.  I know it, he’s here.”

Liam lets go of him and asks, “ _Who_ is here?”

The front door opens and the sound of Zayn and Louis laughing fill the room when they walk into the kitchen.

“Hey guys!” Zayn says cheerfully.  He spots Niall at the table and walks toward him for a kiss when Niall immediately stands up to push him away.  Zayn steps back in surprise and tries again, only to be rebuffed once more.

“Niall, if you don’t want me to kiss you in front of our friends...”

The medication is messing with Niall’s head and he doesn’t see Zayn in front of him anymore, but another person.  The person that lied to him and made him believe he was in love when it was all an elaborate facade.  The facade that put up the boundaries Niall had for so long and Zayn managed to break them down.  Niall’s mind is warped and forcing him to believe his lecherous ex-boyfriend has come back to ruin what he has with Zayn.

“How _dare_ you come here,” Niall snarls, shoving Zayn with force.

Zayn holds his arm out to keep from getting pushed again.  “What are you talking about?”

“Did you really think you could just come here and mess with me again–DID YOU!?” Niall screams out with tears beginning to well in his eyes. “That’s low–even for you, you two-faced asshole.”

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to, Niall?” Zayn raises his voice, “Don’t talk to me like I’m some lowlife!”

“I’ve had enough of your lies!” he growls, “I don’t love you anymore and I never will,” and lunges towards Zayn.  Louis and Liam intervene in time to forcefully push Niall against the wall to hold him back.

Harry’s holding Zayn back when he screams out, “What the hell is going on with you!  I only left for an hour and you go mental on me!?”

“Zayn, listen to me!” Harry shouts out. “It’s his medication talking, he went over the dosage–don’t believe him!”

“You fucking lied to me, you fucking lied!” Niall begins sobbing and struggles to break free from Liam and Louis.

“I’ve never lied to you, Niall, ever!” Zayn screams at him, pushing Harry away. “How _dare_ you accuse me of something I’ve never done!”

“You piece of shit!  You’re trying to tear Zayn and I apart!” Niall spits out. “Why don’t you go fuck that stupid bitch you left me for and leave us alone!”

The room falls into a standstill.  Liam lets go of his friend and walks away to cover his face with his hands.  Harry looks down at the floor, biting his trembling lip to keep from crying.

“Niall,” Louis says quietly, letting go of Niall’s arm, “This _is_ Zayn.”

Harry slowly puts his hand on Niall’s chest to calm him down.  His voice shaking, he asks, “Who do you see in front of you?” pointing at Zayn behind him in tears, breathing raggedly.

“It’s him,” Niall chokes out. “It’s my ex.  I told you,” he sniffles sliding down to the floor. “I told you he was here.”

The tears in Zayn’s eyes feel like fire and he can’t stop them from falling.  “I don’t know who you think I am, Niall,” he says wiping them away. “I love you, but I can’t–”

Zayn runs out of the house and Louis follows close behind.  Harry and Liam protest for Zayn to come back, but he keeps going until he stops at his truck.

“You can’t leave!  Niall needs you!” Harry pleads grabbing Zayn’s arm.

He stays silent, but Harry can tell he is crying again.  “Please stay, he loves you.  None of us knew this would happen.”

Zayn opens the door, hesitating to get inside.  “I won’t leave him, Harry, I want to be with him!” raising his voice, turning to face the two friends. “But if he doesn’t take care of this, then I can’t be near him.  I have to stay away.”

Zayn gets inside and starts the engine, waiting for Louis to join him.  “Take care of Niall,” Louis whispers in Liam’s ear, and runs to the passenger side before Zayn drives away.

Harry and Liam look at each other, then look back through the front door where Niall is still crying in the hallway.  They came to the countryside to help Niall recover from his knee injury, and soon, it was going to be from a broken heart.

–

Niall opens his eyes to find everything in a blur of white light.  His head feels bloated and can barely hold himself up by the knees.  He feels his head tip back and a rush of warm water enters his throat.  He hangs his head down only for it to get tipped back again, and now the water in his throat tastes like salt.

“D’you think we gave him enough?” Liam’s voice is muffled in Niall’s ears, and his hand holds Niall’s neck up.

“One more, he looks close enough,” Harry’s voice now sounding just as suppressed.

Liam tilts Niall’s head and another rush of water fills his throat.  The taste is too much too soon and immediately his stomach feels like it’s going to explode.

“How do you feel, Niall?” Harry asks holding his hand to Niall’s forehead.

“Like shit,” he manages to muster out. “I think... I think I’m going to–” Niall retches, but doesn’t feel anything come out.

“Get the bucket, hurry!” Liam quickly tells Harry, who comes back placing it in front of Niall. “Come on, you can do this–we have to flush out your medication.”

“Picture me dipping chips into a vat of dirty motor oil,” Harry says shifting his eyes. “And eating it with cigarette ashes all over.”  Niall begins groaning and Liam shifts to hold him up.

“Harry!  How is that going to help!?”

Harry holds up his finger to shush Liam. “What if I drank beer from a bottle full of tobacco spit?”

“Oh my god,” Niall gags, and Liam positions his head over the bucket, finally throwing up all the contents of his stomach.  Niall’s gasping when he’s finished, and Harry cleans him up with a wet towel.

“Feel better?” Liam asks.

“I think so,” Niall replies. “No!  Don’t make me drink that again!” he says pushing away a glass of ice water Harry’s holding in front of him.

“It’s not the salt water!  Stop fussing and drink!”

Liam helps Niall to his feet, then slowly drinks the ice water until he feels rehydrated.  He could handle throwing up after one too many pints, but this was a new feeling altogether.

Sensing an uneasy tension between his friends, he notes their worried expressions when it dawns on him: “I’ve done something bad, haven’t I?”

Liam takes the glass from him, looking sadder than usual. “You took too much of your medication and it messed with you.”

“Oh no,” Niall buries his face in his hands. “I _knew_ I shouldn’t have taken them–I accidentally dropped the bottles and everything spilled out and–”

Harry reaches for Niall’s hands and holds them in his.  “You need to talk to Zayn.”

Niall’s stomach drops and his heart begins to race.  “Tell me what happened, tell me I didn’t do anything to him,” he pleads in a panic.

“You weren’t yourself–your meds took over and you... you believed Zayn was your ex.”

“Liam, I didn’t!” Niall says horrified. “Say it’s not true–Harry, say it isn’t!” He looks at his friends, hoping they’ll break out in laughter, but neither of them give the reprieve he’s looking for.

“Zayn loves you and he wants to be with you,” Harry reassures him. “But you need to talk to him.”

“How can he talk to me when he thinks I’m off my head!” Niall shouts, slamming his fists onto bathroom counter. “I mistook him for the worst possible person I could think of and now he thinks I’ll do it all the time, oh god!”

Liam holds Niall steady and waits for him to look in his eyes. “Give him time, Niall.  If he comes back, he’s yours.  If he doesn’t...”

Niall breaks away from Liam when his eyes begin to well up.  He grips the edge of the counter, trying to keep it together until he lets out a sob, slumping to the floor in tears.  Liam and Harry rush to pick him up, but tightly embrace their friend instead, letting him know it'll be okay.

–

Niall spends the next week and a half inside of the house, never leaving unless Loki wants to play in the backyard.  He has trouble sleeping, knowing that when he wakes up in the morning, Zayn won’t be by his side.  Harry kept insisting he talk to Zayn and straighten things out, but Niall was too miserable and embarrassed about what had happened.

Louis still comes over to hang out and Niall appreciates it, because Louis is his only link to Zayn, even if he wasn’t with him.  Despite Louis spending several weeks crashing at the cottage, Niall notices Liam slowly having more intimate conversations with Louis in the house, but not close enough to declare anything serious.

One afternoon, Niall softly treads towards the kitchen when he hears Louis and Liam talking in hushed tones.  Leaning against the wall, he eavesdrops on their conversation.

“They’ve been miserable for too long, we have to do something,” Liam says.

“Zayn mopes around all day and so does Niall.  Zayn hardly eats and Niall can’t sleep at all,” Louis sighs in frustration. “I just feel like we’re caring for two oversized babies.”

“I've insisted he just talk it over with Zayn, but he just gives me this sad look and... it's always easier said than done, isn't it?  I just want them to be happy.”

“I want that too, Liam.  For all of us.”

Niall quietly walks back to his room, and rests his head on the door.  He had no idea he was being so selfish.  His behavior was affecting his friends' happiness, and he had to do something about it.  Tonight.

On a whim, Niall walks into the bathroom and spots the bathtub he's yet to use.  He searches through the cupboards and finds a large bottle of a citrus bath soak and walks over to the tub.  He twists the handles of the faucet, reading the instructions on the bottle, until the water reaches halfway and its steam fills the room.  Niall pours some of the bath soak into the water, effectively turning it into an aquamarine color, before quickly undressing and climbing into the tub.

The warm sensation of the water and the sweet citrus scent immediately puts Niall's mind and body at ease.  Winning Zayn back was all that was on his mind, and he was trying to think of a million ways that might possibly redeem him in Zayn's eyes: Serenade him with flowers?  Hire sky writers?  Buy him new boots?

Niall groans in frustration when he comes to the conclusion of apologizing first, and maybe– _just maybe_ –Zayn would hear him out.

A light knock raps at the door, followed by Harry's voice, and Niall beckons him to come in.

"Oh! I didn't know you were–" Harry says in surprise, covering his eyes.

"You can buy bottles of lube in front of me, but you get shy when I'm naked in a bathtub?" Niall asks sarcastically.

"This is different, Niall!" Harry retorts. "Anyway, Louis invited us to dinner, do you want to go?"

Niall flicks at the water, reluctant to respond to the question.  Harry kneels down to the tub and puts his hand under Niall's chin to look at him.  "You don't have to go if you don't want to, okay?  We won't force you."

Niall shakes his head and Harry reaches over to give his friend a kiss on the forehead.  "Be good," he says standing up, "And no parties while mommy and daddy are gone!" Niall bursts out laughing and splashes water at Harry who runs out squealing for Liam.

–

Niall stands next to Louis's truck, watching his friends settle in without him.  He couldn't see why he'd be able to go, the truck could only fit three people and Harry's practically squashed between Louis and Liam.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Louis asks with puppy eyes. "We'll have lots of fun, I promise."

"Go on and have it without me, I'll be okay here."

Louis nods his head and starts the engine, revving it until it was ready to go.  Harry blows Niall a kiss and he catches it, playfully holding it against his chest.  Liam waves goodbye and Niall waves back until they're gone.

Niall quickly walks back into the house and picks up the telephone, slowly dialing the number to the Malik Estates.  His heart pounds out of his chest waiting for someone to answer the call.  Mrs. Malik picks up and Niall quickly disguises his Irish accent into an English one, asking to speak to Zayn.  Niall waits what feels like forever when he finally hears him.

“Hello?” Zayn’s voice sounds echoes through the phone.  Niall gasps and can’t force himself to say his Zayn’s name.  “Hello?  Anyone on the line?”

Niall quickly hangs up and bangs his head against the wall, feeling his heart tear to pieces from hearing Zayn’s voice.  Loki brushes against Niall’s legs and he stares at the puppy.  “How pathetic am I to call his house just to hear his voice?”

Niall aimlessly wanders around the house, stopping when he finds Liam’s bedroom door open.  He enters, noting its cleanliness, and sits down on Liam’s bed.  “Typical he’d make his room look like an Ikea catalogue,” Niall scoffs to himself.

When he shifts his feet, he feels something scrape against his heel.  Reaching down, he finds a small shoe box, and curiously shakes it.  He opens it, finding it full of the letters Louis sent to Liam, some hastily opened and others pristine.  Niall scrunches his face at them, choosing not to read them for fear of finding out just how much more gratuitous Louis can get.

Niall accidentally tilts the box, and the contents that slide over reveal a set of clean red envelopes, various stamps, and a notepad.

This was the same one he’d seen Liam use weeks before, and it hits Niall like a freight train: _Liam’s been writing back to Louis_.

“I don’t believe it!” he says with an impressed laugh. “That stealthy son of a bitch.”

Niall attempts to get the box looking like it did when he first opened it, quickly shutting the lid when a folded piece of paper escapes, falling to the floor.  Niall picks it up, catching a glimpse of the words written inside.

_Dear Liam,_

_Niall and Zayn need the both of us now more than ever.  
We’ll find the time for us again._

_–Louis_

Niall reads the note over and over again, astonished by Louis’s earnest tone.  Liam had kept their correspondence hidden so well, he had no idea Louis had refrained from the raunchy material he provided the first time around.

Niall then folds it up, placing it back inside the box under Liam’s bed.  He runs back downstairs and calls Zayn’s house again.  He planned to apologize and he wasn’t going to break his promise.  This time when Mrs. Malik picks up, Niall uses his regular voice–he’s not going to hide.

“Niall!  Oh Niall, we haven’t heard from you in days!  Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Mrs. Malik, just resting,” he pauses, nervously twisting the telephone cord around his hand. “Um, could I talk to Zayn?”

“I was hoping you would talk to him, he’s not been himself lately!  Always moping about the house, not working as much as he used to, my poor baby,” she says sadly, and Niall’s heart feels deflated.

“I’ll put him on the line for you.”

“Mrs. Malik, wait!  Could you maybe not tell him it’s me that’s calling?”

“Sure thing, darling.”

He waits about 30 seconds when he hears the phone pick up.  “Hello?”

Niall struggles to find his voice again.  “Hello?” Zayn says once more.

“Zayn,” Niall finally says into the receiver, and he’s met with silence.  “I’m so sorry for everything.  I’ve fucked it all up and I hurt the one person I care about the most.  And I... I understand if you never want to see me again.”

The silence overwhelms him, uncertain if Zayn was still on the line.  Niall covers his eyes, his fingers pressing against them to keep him from crying.  Knowing he won’t get a response, he ends the call.

“Goodbye, Zayn.”

–

Saturday afternoon arrives and Louis is overjoyed to find Harry, Niall, and Liam insisting they help set up his tent for the farmers market.  Niall needs the fresh air, after all it _had_ been a while since he left the house.  Two weeks, to be exact.

“Run it by me again why your family doesn’t help you with this?” Niall asks, hauling a crate of lettuce from the truck and handing it to Liam.

“They get a bit messy when it comes to these things,” Louis replies, checking off a list of items from a clipboard.  “My step-dad gets distracted, my sisters run around all crazy, and mum chases after them–absolute _mayhem_.”

“Good thing you’ve got us for the day, yeah?” Harry says with a big smile.

“Oh yeah. And I can pay you in watermelon rinds when you’re all done,” he says with a snort.  Liam giggles and Louis goes to him, whispering in his ear and making Liam laugh even harder.

Niall smiles at the state of their friendship, given what he secretly knows about them, especially when he spots Louis’s hand softly gripping Liam’s bicep.

Niall picks up a crate of oranges, but lifts it too high and a few of them go rolling around in the dirt.  He hands it off to Liam, rushing to pick up the stray fruits.  When he reaches the last one, his foot accidentally kicks it and gives chase until it stops under a leather boot.

“You missed one.”

Niall slowly looks up and swallows hard.  “Zayn,” his voice shakes.

Zayn bends down and picks up the orange from under his heel, tossing it in the air and catching it before holding out for Niall to take.  Niall stays frozen, unsure if Zayn will throw it in his face or if he’ll force him to lick the orange zest off of his boots.

“If you don’t want it, I can just throw it away–”

“I’ll take it!” Niall says, quickly snatching the orange, “I’ll just um, give it back to Louis.”  Niall turns away, unable to handle the tension between them.

“Niall, don’t–” Zayn implores, holding Niall’s elbow to stop him from walking away.  “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything when you called.  I was still angry and confused and,” he pauses, “I didn’t know how much I missed you until I heard your voice.”

Niall’s heart begins racing and immediately turns to face Zayn.  “I missed you too,” he replies, “I fucked it up, I know I did.  But you need to understand I wasn’t myself, I wasn’t–”

Zayn forcefully grabs Niall by the shirt and kisses him hard.  Niall is taken by surprise but soon falls into the kiss, dropping the oranges in his hands and holding Zayn’s hips instead.  Zayn’s soft lips and warm tongue against Niall’s own sends vibrations through his body, just like it did the first time they kissed in the back garden, and every time after that.

“Niall, my oranges!” Louis screams across the way, picking them all up. “I can’t sell these–and you two finally made up–you’re making me lose money, I expect you to pay for these!”

Louis stomps away and Zayn lets go of Niall’s shirt, smoothing it out and leaving his hands on his chest.  “We have some talking to do,” Zayn whispers in Niall’s ear.

–

Zayn and Niall walk the same hills and pathways in just like the first time they managed to get away from the market, except now it was in silence.  The backs of their hands brush against each other, but neither of them make the move to hold hands.

Zayn stops at a particular hill where a large tree sits at the top.  He motions for Niall to follow, having walked as fast as they could without slipping.  They lie down side by side, staring at the branches above, blinking at the flecks of light that seep through from the beginning sunset.

Niall sits up and picks at the grass near his feet. “Zayn, I want you to know that I wasn’t myself–everything I said to you, I didn’t know it was happening until it was too late.”

Zayn sits up and puts his hand on Niall’s bad knee, tracing the outline of the brace underneath his jeans with a finger.  “Tell me what happened, Niall.  Tell me everything.”

Niall shakes his head, and stops when Zayn puts his hand on Niall’s cheek. “You’ve kept this to yourself long enough,” searching for Niall’s eyes, “It’s time you let it out before I lose you again.”

“I tell my story, you tell me yours?” Niall asks, and Zayn nods in agreement.

Niall takes a few a deep breaths, unsure if he wants to do this, but Zayn kisses his shoulder, and he finally begins.

“It was a ‘love at first sight’ thing, I guess.  This guy really swept me off my feet and I was just so taken with him, I really thought we had something.  But then he started distancing himself from me, he kept bringing this woman around, claiming she was a ‘friend’.

It was so disgusting how he fawned over her the same way he did with me, so Harry and Liam called him out on it–if she was a friend, why did he act like she was his girlfriend when he was still technically with me?”

“He was using you,” Zayn points out.

“But I _let_ it happen, Zayn.  I kept lying to myself, thinking he would leave her, but he never did, so I broke it off.  Next thing I know, he’s getting married and he had the balls to invite me,” Niall laughs in amusement, before putting his head down.

“The fact is, I couldn’t bring myself to cry or even get angry.  I just bottled it up for so long, and I wound up hurting you.”

“Niall,” Zayn sighs, resting his head on Niall’s shoulder, “You couldn’t hurt me as much as the others have.”

“No?  How so?”

“The first person I hooked up with turned out to already have a pregnant girlfriend. The next two were people who just sort of forgot about me, kinda like those ‘flings’, I guess?  It sucked to find out they wanted nothing to do with me when I tried to keep in touch, to be honest.  But the last one who came along had anger issues... he tried to beat Louis to a pulp out of jealousy, it was probably the most terrifying thing I'd ever experienced.”

“You’re fucking joking!” Niall says in shock, “What did you do to him?”

“I smashed a vase over his head before he tried to lay another finger on Louis.”

“Wow...” Niall blinks, trying to imagine the scenario.

“See what I mean?  You only mistook me for someone else, you didn't do any of that,” Zayn reassures him. “But I just want you to know that even when we were apart... all I could think about was how you always made me laugh over the weirdest things.  I haven’t felt like that for a long time and all you did was smile at me.  And that's all that matters to me, that I can make you just as happy if you let me.”

Niall looks into Zayn’s eyes and notices the glint of hazel in them. “I know it took me a while to realize it because I was afraid, but I know now that you’re all I’ve been looking for this whole time.”

The last sentence makes Zayn’s eyes light up, and the soft smile Niall remembers from their very first encounter is in front of him once more.

Niall leans in to kiss Zayn, both in desperation and as a physical apology, because he knows saying “I’m sorry” a million times wouldn’t cut it.  He slowly pushes Zayn back against the grass, making the kiss slow and tender, intending to savor every drop like it was the last.

“Can you forgive me?” Niall asks, nuzzling his nose against Zayn’s own.

“You never needed to ask.”

–

Going back to the market was no easy feat, Niall finally got Zayn back and wanted to ravage him every way he could.  But being the good friend that Niall is, he intended to keep his promise of helping Louis at the market.

The newly reunited couple spent their time slicing fruit samples, and charming the villagers into buying the best produce money could buy.  What made Niall happy, besides Zayn disguising his whispers as kisses, was seeing his friends happy.

“I’m glad you’re back together,” Harry smiles, slicing a wedge of an apple for himself. “You just look a lot happier.  You glow.  Glow like pregnant women.”

“Didn’t you say you were going to break me in half with your thighs if I broke Niall’s heart?” Zayn asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Well yes, but it was mostly Niall’s fault, so you’re safe from my thighs... for now.”

Niall scoffs and snatches the apple away from Harry.  He stares at it for a moment, then looks at Louis across the way, happily handing a customer a pint of strawberries.  Louis smiles even wider when Liam drapes an arm around his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Zayn asks.  Niall cocks his head to the side and takes a bite out of the apple.  “Nothing.  Just looking at Liam and Louis.”

“Yeah, they’re getting along a lot better, aren’t they?” replying with an affectionate smile.

“Would you have seduced me with fruit baskets?” Niall asks, putting his fingers through the loops of Zayn’s jeans, bringing him closer, “Complete with explicit letters?”

Zayn licks his lips, and thinks for a moment. “I’d probably send you a dead pheasant, since I’m a gamekeeper and all.”  Niall cackles loudly in response and the two are interrupted by Louis snapping his fingers at them to get back to work.

“Stay with me tonight?” Niall whispers quickly.

“No,” Zayn says sternly.  “Do you seriously think that _one_ night is going to make up for two weeks of not having your pretty little mouth on my cock?”

Harry dramatically gasps out loud, having overheard the last part of the conversation.  Niall and Zayn give him an unforgiving stare, and Harry closes his mouth, putting a finger over his lips.

“Liam, Louis!” Harry yells, walking over to the table.  “It’s nearly closing time, what do you say we go for a drink after we’re done packing up?”

Harry looks over his shoulder and winks at the couple, shifting his head for them to go back to the cottage.

Niall and Zayn race to get back to the cottage and quickly undress each other when they reach Niall’s room.  They figured they’d have at least two hours to themselves, and they were going to use that time wisely.  Niall could never forget the feeling of Zayn’s body pressed against his, but it was nothing compared to when he had to constantly imagine it when they were apart.

Now that Zayn was back in Niall’s arms, they make their moans echo throughout the house, gripping the sheets until the threads rip out of their seams, scratching each other’s backs, and their breathing out of control.  Niall’s veins are pumping nothing but pure adrenaline, and neither he nor Zayn can stop from screaming each other’s names in ecstasy when they crash from the high of the final round of pleasure.

After catching his breath, Niall curls against Zayn, who drapes an arm around his waist, softly kissing the back of his neck.

“Zayn...”

“Yeah, Niall?”

“Your parents–do they know about us?”

“They’ve kind of known since we had tea that one day,” he snickers. “But yeah, they adore you and the boys.”

Niall turns over to face Zayn, running his thumb against the sharp cheekbones and angular jawline.  “I almost didn’t meet you, did you know?” Niall laughs and Zayn props himself up.  “Your mum invited us for dinner and Liam nearly rejected her offer, could you imagine?”

“I think we still would have met, though,” Zayn says earnestly.  “Louis would have introduced us, maybe... But either way, I’m glad you came out and played with me at the dinner.  I couldn’t help it when I kissed you.”

Niall blushes and buries his head between Zayn’s propped shoulder.  Niall hears him laugh, and pushes Zayn onto his back, climbing on top.

“Zayn... I just want you to know that when I’m with you–I know I’m going to be happy for a long time.”

“Niall,” Zayn whispers, softly caressing his cheek, “You’re all I need.  You’re all I’ll ever need.”

–

Niall falls into a lucid dream-like state, unsure if the vibrations he feels through his body are coming from Zayn’s voice.  Niall hears Zayn’s voice again, and the vibrations become more forceful until he jerks himself awake, finding Zayn frantically shaking his arm.

“Niall, wake up!”

“Why, what’s happening?” he replies in a normal voice, rubbing his eyes.

“Shh!  There’s something thumping upstairs!  Listen.”

Niall waits a moment before hearing heavy footsteps walk across the floor.  “Honestly, it’s probably just Liam walking around, it’s no big–”, and a crash of what sounds like a table being knocked over sends Loki’s barks throughout the house.

They gasp in unison and Zayn jumps out of bed, turning on the light and quickly putting on his underwear. “Okay, that’s it–I’m getting rid of this dude,” he says digging underneath Niall’s mattress.

“Zayn, what are you–” Niall’s his eyes go wide when he whips out a cricket bat.  “Are you fucking serious, where the hell did you get that!?”

“I’m a gamekeeper, I’m allowed an armory!”

“And you left it in my bedroom–are you out of your mind!?”

“Look,” Zayn ducks when he hears a loud thump again, “Either I get rid of this guy or we’re all dead, do you understand?”

Niall stares unconvinced, but immediately puts on his underwear and follows behind Zayn when they creep out of the bedroom.  They barely make it down the hallway when they hear Harry whispering Niall’s name by the staircase.

“Niall!  Niall!  There’s someone in Liam’s bedroom, I’m scared!” he whispers loudly.  “I found a can of hairspray but I don’t think it’s enough!”

Zayn holds a finger to his lips to shush him, and he steps aside to let Zayn lead the way while Harry clings to Niall’s back.  Reaching Liam’s door, Zayn whispers a countdown to three before they all burst in together.

“What the fuck?” All three boys say in unison.

The room is drenched in orange light– from fabrics draped over the lampshade–and Louis is lying on Liam’s bed with one hand tied to the bedpost, and the other covering his eyes.

“Liam!  Oh Liam, darling,” he says dramatically arching his back, “I’ve gotten myself stuck–”

“Uhh... Louis?” Zayn says, still holding the cricket bat, ready to strike.

Louis snaps his head in surprise before giving them an annoyed look.  “Oh it’s you losers,” he says flatly, “Get lost, I’m trying to surprise Liam,” then readjusts his position on the bed.

“How the hell did you get in here, do you have any idea what time it is!?” Niall asks annoyed, putting his hand on his hips.

“Louis, I thought you went home?” Harry recalls in confusion.

“I reckon I might have driven back and snuck in through the window.”

“Dammit, Louis!  I’m holding a bat, do you realize I could have whacked your head clean off!?” Zayn yells waving the bat around, Harry and Niall ducking to get out of its way.

The door creaks opens and Liam stares at everyone dumbfounded.  “Um... why is my room orange?  And why are you all in it?”

Louis gasps and throws his arm over his eyes, dramatically reciting, “Liam!  Oh Liam, darling, I’ve gotten myself stuck in your bed!  Do help me get out of this pickle!”

Liam looks around sheepishly, reluctant to ask about the writhing young farmer tied to his bed and how he got there.  “I swear he wasn’t in here when I left to use the bathroom,” holding his hands up defensively.

“You know what,” Niall rolls his eyes, grabbing Zayn and Harry to leave the room, “We’re going to bed.”

“Wait, you can’t leave!” Liam says in desperation, “What am I gonna do?”

Niall puts a hand on Liam’s shoulder to say something, looking over to the side when he finds Louis mouthing the words “Fuck. Off.”, and a smile creeps across his face.

“You’re a big boy, you can make big boy decisions.”

“But Niall!” Liam flails his hands in a panic.  “Zayn, he’s your best friend, what do I do!”

“Liam, wrap this up so I can get my control issues in order!” Louis yells, furiously pulling at the bedpost with his trapped hand.

Niall and Harry cheer loudly and Zayn simply says, “Good luck,” before slamming the door shut.  The doorknob jiggles, but Harry helps Zayn hold it shut to prevent Liam from getting out.  The three jump back when Liam kicks the door, but lean against it when they hear Liam firmly say, “If this is what you really want, then we’re doing it _my_ way.”

–

Niall visits the doctor and leaves with the good news that his knee was healing perfectly from the incident two weeks before.  He’s slowly weening himself off the medication and feels better for it.

Niall went to the doctor’s office alone, but when he leaves, he finds Zayn waiting for him in the same chair Harry once sat, reading a magazine.

“So,” Zayn says, his eyes wandering the pages, “Tell me the news–can my boyfriend last longer than an hour when we have sex?”

Niall lets out a fake laugh and replies, “Maybe if my boyfriend didn’t give up 45 minutes into it whenever we do.”

“I don’t hear you complaining nightly,” Zayn says sarcastically, throwing the magazine onto the table.

“Because it makes you feel special,” Niall teases, walking towards Zayn.  “How’d you know I was here?”

“Spotted you from the market,” Zayn replies, pointing at the paper bags by his chair. “Louis and his family are having their spring harvest tonight, I’m meant to be helping.  You’re invited, obviously,” he says with a grin.

“Aww, and you snuck out of work to see me,” Niall playfully says with a giggle.

“Come on, I’ll give you a ride home,” Zayn says, picking up the bags before walking out of the building, holding Niall’s hand.

They walk towards Zayn’s truck and settle inside when Zayn asks, “Think we can go one round before I get back to work?”  Niall raises his eyebrows and Zayn bites his lip in desperation.

“What, right here, in your truck?”

“What–no!  I was thinking in one of the fields or–” Zayn gasps and his arm hits the car horn by accident, not expecting Niall’s hand to grip his balls so tightly.

“You know, my boyfriend thinks I don’t last very long,” Niall replies with a smirk, slowly lowering his head towards Zayn’s crotch. “But we’ll see how long he lasts when he’s driving me home,” and unzips Zayn’s jeans when he turns on the ignition.

–

Niall comes home to find the house smelling of apples and cinnamon.  Harry sprints across the living room towards him, excitedly waving a card around. “We’ve been invited to Louis’s spring harvest dinner!  Liam’s making an apple pie for dessert!”

“Ooh, is that what smells so good?” Niall asks, inhaling the scent once more. “I ran into Zayn after the doctor’s appointment, he told me about it before we–”

Harry grabs Niall’s face, examining it from side to side. “Harry, what are you doing?”

“Would you look at that,” Harry replies, shaking his head. “Lips swollen and red, messy hair.” Niall’s eyes go wide, and Harry lets go of his face, putting his hands on hips. “No wonder Zayn’s truck kept stopping and going every 5 seconds up the driveway.”

“Now look here, Harry–”

“Hush!” Harry curtly says, holding his hand up to silence Niall.  Harry opens his mouth to say something when Liam runs down the stairs in a panic.

“I have nothing to wear!” Liam yells, pacing back and forth around the living room, with Loki following his every move.

“Don’t be silly, you have loads of clothes to wear!” Harry replies, but Liam waves him off.

“You don’t understand, I want to look good for Louis!”

Harry and Niall look at each other with huge smiles on their faces and tackle Liam to the sofa, teasing him for answers.  “Has our Liam finally fallen in love with Louis?” Niall coos in Liam’s ear.

Liam’s cheeks flush to a light pink and makes a break for it, pushing Harry and Niall onto the floor.  Harry quickly gets up and clings to Liam’s leg, refusing to let go.  “Liam, answer us!”

“Louis yelled at me on the phone about it,” he replies, straining to break away from Harry’s iron grip. “I can’t look nice for a friend?”

“A ‘friend’,” Niall teases, “Confess your sins, sinner!”

“I’m not–OW!  Dammit, Harry!” Liam yelps, Harry having bit him in the thigh. “I am not telling either of you anything!  Not yet, anyway...”

The oven timer dings loudly, surprising everyone. “The pie’s ready!” Liam squeals, finally flinging Harry’s body away and running into the kitchen.  Niall picks him up and they quickly head to the kitchen, finding Liam carefully removing three pies with kitchen towels and setting them on the counter.

“It’s apple pie,” Liam says lovingly, “It’s got cinnamon and other spices in it,” inhaling the top of the laced crust.  “Louis is gonna love it,” he says with a big child-like smile.

Niall reaches over to the pies and Liam promptly slaps his hand away.  “You have to wait ‘til it cools down, dummy,” he says rolling his eyes. “They’re not for you anyway.”

“Ooh, look at Mr. Attitude,” Harry teases, leaning his arm against the refrigerator.  “Getting snappy at his own friends, hah!”

Niall’s stomach keeps growling at the sight of the pies and he notices Loki staring at them as well.  “Liam, just a little piece, for me and Loki–OW!” Liam towel snaps Niall to stay away from his culinary creations.

“It’s not for you!” he shouts again, folding his arms in defiance.

“Oh my god, you spiked the filling, didn’t you?” Harry asks, scrunching his face.  “Definitely not eating that,” Niall says, and backs away from the kitchen, taking Harry with him.

–

Harry, Niall, and Liam leave for the spring harvest, arriving two hours too early at Liam's insistence.  Harry's being pulled to the front door by Loki on his leash, and Niall excitedly rings the antique bell, the sound loud enough to nearly frighten Liam into dropping his apple pies.

The door opens and the boys are greeted by Daisy, who immediately takes to Loki.

“You didn’t tell me you had a dog!” she squeals, holding her hand out for Loki, who puts his paw in her palm.

“His name is Loki,” Liam says behind his pies, “Cute, huh?”

“More than cute!” she exclaims, and brings the boys in the house.  Liam walks to the kitchen to find Mrs. Tomlinson, and Daisy calls for her sisters to play with Loki, whom Harry leads to the backyard.

Daisy comes running back into the house with a glass of lemonade for Niall, and tugs at his hand telling him, “You have to dance with me tonight!  Promise!”

“Of course I’ll dance with you,” he replies taking the glass, “We’ll knock everyone’s socks off, yeah?”

“Yeah!” she exclaims, “I bet I could dance just as good at you and Zayn’s wedding!”

“Daisy!” Zayn’s voice startles them as he walks down the staircase. “Shouldn’t be saying those things in front of our guests,” he says quietly.

Daisy blushes and gives Niall a hug before telling him, “You owe me a dance!” before she runs off screaming for Loki.

Niall takes in the disheveled state of his boyfriend–messy hair, dirty white shirt clinging to his chest, and dusty jeans–it was unlike what he’d seen hours before when they were in the doctor’s office.  If testosterone were a physical entity, it’d be in the shape of Zayn, and the smell of him was driving Niall’s insides crazy–and if he weren’t so modest, he’d take Zayn on the floor right then and there.

“Hope she didn’t scare you with the marriage thing,” Zayn says giving Niall a kiss on the cheek. “You’re here rather early, though...”

Niall rolls his eyes and nods his head in the direction of Liam in the kitchen. “Liam's fault, he’s too excited about the apple pies he’s made for Louis.”

“For Louis!” Zayn says in surprise, “Has he finally come around?”

“He wouldn’t say,” offering his glass of lemonade to Zayn, “But maybe we’ll see tonight?”

“Mmm,” Zayn mumbles, taking the glass from Niall, and drinking it quickly.  A stray bead of liquid escapes the side of his mouth and Niall stares as it slowly makes its way down Zayn’s jaw.  Zayn lets out a satisfied sigh when he’s finished, and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Want another glass?” Niall asks, wiping the stray liquid from Zayn’s jawline. “Louis must be working you rather hard,” he says seductively, “Getting you all dirty and sweaty, goodness me.”

Niall softly runs his fingers down Zayn’s exposed, sweaty biceps, feeling the hairs stand up from the touch.  He smiles when he hears Zayn’s breathing go from normal to heavy.  “Niall,” Zayn gulps loudly, “Not here.”

“Oop, silly me!” Niall playfully quips, “Teasing the help, what was I thinking?”  He quickly turns away from Zayn, who grabs his hips and pulls him back, softly grinding into Niall’s backside. “You’re going to pay for that,” Zayn growls in Niall’s ear, “And you’d better pay in full.”

“Hey, Zayn!  Do you know where–oh...”

Niall and Zayn quickly break away from each other, and Liam looks down at one of the pies he’s holding, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.  “I was just wondering if you knew where Louis was?”

“Bluebell field,” Zayn says, bringing Liam to the patio and pointing in the direction of where he needed to go. “I reckon he’s doing his meditating, so tread carefully.”

“Meditating?” Niall asks when Zayn comes back inside.

“Yeah, he just chills out there when he’s done working for the day.”

“Does that mean we can play now?”

Zayn inhales sharply and shakes his head. “I’m much too dirty to be played with, not when I need a shower,” he replies with a smirk, bringing Niall up the stairs with him.

“Who said I’d be playing with you?” Niall asks in mock offense, “If I recall correctly, I was the one who gave you a–”

“You nasty skanktrains,” Harry says flatly, having appeared out of nowhere, and shaking his head.  “Seriously can’t take either of you anywhere,” dramatically throwing his hands in the air and walking back outside.

“Come on,” Zayn says, grabbing Niall’s arm, “If you won’t play with me, then the least you could do is watch me play with myself.”

–

The spring harvest dinner goes off without a hitch, nearly everyone in the village was invited, bringing their own food in addition to the dishes Louis’s family already provided.

The dinner takes place in a large open barn with endless rows of wooden picnic tables, and Louis insists his friends sit in the very front with him.  “You’ll get the first and hottest servings, just because I can be selfish,” he says with an evil grin.

When Zayn leaves to get dessert for the table, Niall feels something brush against his leg, not noticing when Liam coughs loudly.  He finishes his large portion of roast beef and green beans when he feels it again.  Looking under the table in hopes it was just Loki eating random scraps of food–which he really shouldn’t do–he finds Louis rubbing his foot against Liam’s leg.

Niall immediately sits back up and finds Harry giving him a questioning look.  Niall keeps motioning with his eyes for Harry to look over at Liam and Louis–clearly in their own world of giggles and hahas–before pointing downward and mouthing, “Look under the table!”

Harry looks around for a moment, pretending to drop his napkin, and quickly ducks under the table.  Niall hears him gasp and hit his head before resurfacing with wide eyes and motioning for Niall to lean over the table.

“He’s got his hand on Liam’s thigh!  And he’s not resisting!” Harry attempts to whisper in Niall’s ear.

“What!?  He was rubbing his foot on Liam’s leg when I looked!  What the hell is going on with these two?” Niall whispers back, and Harry simply shrugs in return before sitting back down.

“Looks like Liam’s pies are a hit,” Zayn shouts over the crowd, holding a large bowl. “I couldn’t get a piece so I just dumped all the ice cream in here for us.”

The boys cheer and finish the bowl at break neck speed, leaving it practically spotless when they’re all done.  “Think we can get another bowl?” Niall asks, rubbing his stomach.

“We just finished like, a gallon of ice cream, and you still want more?” Louis replies spinning the bowl around.

“Leave him,” Liam commands, putting his hand on Louis’s arm. “He’s got four stomachs, he can handle it.”

Soon after, everyone in the barn helps clean up the area before pulling the tables apart to make way for a dance floor.  Louis’s parents are in charge of music–mostly playing ‘80s tunes–which charms Niall, and Daisy drags him onto the dance floor when Thomas Dolby’s “[She Blinded Me With Science](http://youtu.be/nMWGXt979yg)” blares through the speakers.

“Science!” she shouts during the song, “You have to say it too, Niall!”  He cackles and sings along with her, dancing and clapping to the beat.  When the song ends, she gives Niall a hug and thanks him for keeping his promise before running off to find her sisters.

Two more upbeat songs blare through the speakers, and Niall takes to dancing with Harry and Mrs. Tomlinson to pass the time.  Louis’s step-dad announces through the PA for all the couples to get together, as it was time for a slow ballad.

Niall stands alone on the dance floor for a moment when Bryan Ferry’s “[Slave to Love](http://youtu.be/UH1CMCtV4to)” begins to play.  He closes his eyes, taking in the sounds of the keyboards that lead to the first verse of the song.

“God, I love this song,” he says to himself.

“So do I.”

Niall feels a hand run across his shoulders, and shivers at the touch.  “May I have this dance?” Zayn asks, holding his hand out.  Niall smiles and takes it, before being spun in a circle.

A sharp, biting breeze flows through the barn, and Niall shudders.  “Come closer,” Zayn whispers, pulling Niall towards him with his hands on his hips.  Niall puts his hands behind Zayn’s neck and they sway to Bryan’s voice.

_You're running with me, don't touch the ground..._

“It’s killing me you’ll be going home soon,” Zayn says weakly.

Niall sighs, realizing how fast time had gone by.  “You know I need to, but I don’t want to go back.”

_We're the restless hearted, not the chained and bound..._

“You have Harry and Liam, they need you.”

“The way they need me isn’t the same way I need you.”

_The sky is burning, a sea of flame..._

“We’ll be so far apart, just...stay a little longer.”

“Zayn,” Niall whispers, “You know I can always come back.”

_Though your world is changing, I will be the same..._

“Would you wait for me, no matter how long it took?” Zayn asks, sounding desperate, “You already know I’ll always be here.”

Niall tilts his head and reassures Zayn, “You know I’d wait for you, I’ll be like those old spinsters,” he says with a laugh.

Zayn grabs Niall’s hand and holds it to his chest, making him feel his heartbeat–it’s racing faster than it should.  “Zayn, are you okay?” Niall asks concerned.

“I love you, Niall.  Proper in love with you,” Zayn says breathlessly.

Niall stands silent, his heartbeat now matching Zayn’s in competition, and he pulls Zayn into a deep kiss.  Niall’s head is spinning but he gets it, he finally feels whole.  Zayn wanted to keep Niall happy, and he’s done more than that since they’ve been together.  Niall knew he needed Zayn, but now... he knows he can’t go on without the gamekeeper of his dreams.

“I love you too, Zayn,” Niall chokes out, “I really fucking love you, and there’s nothing I want more than to be with you, forever.”  They kiss once more and don’t let go when a thunderclap breaks the air, and it begins to rain, sending the guests into a frenzy.

_And I can't escape, I'm a slave to love..._

–

A dark hue is cast over the cottage in the morning, and the soft, rhythmic taps of raindrops outside of Niall's window wake him up.  Niall softly yawns, and Zayn drapes an arm over Niall's waist, pulling their naked bodies closer together.

“What’s on your mind?” Zayn asks, lightly kissing the back of Niall’s neck.  Niall sighs happily and snuggles backward into Zayn’s arms. “Nothing.”

Zayn breaks away from Niall and throws the thick blanket covering them into the air, straddling Niall’s hips as the sheet falls over their heads.  Niall’s laughing as Zayn leans in to quickly kiss down his chest, before stopping at his ribcage.

“I’m going to give you the best going away present, just you watch,” Zayn says with a smirk.

“Oh? And what’s that?” Niall replies, “A butterfly knife from your armory?”

Zayn bites at the skin of Niall’s stomach and he squirms to get away, but Niall struggles when Zayn holds his hands above his head, unable to escape.  Zayn squeezes his thighs a little tighter to keep Niall in place, and begins to furiously bite and suck on the skin of Niall’s neck, leaving an extremely dark purple love bite.

“There,” Zayn says with a satisfied smile, “Now everyone in London will know who’s been giving it to you this good.”

Niall bites his lip, and his expression turns from love-flushed to melancholic.  “I’m going to miss this, waking up with you next to me.”

Zayn lets go of his hold on Niall and rests his head on Niall’s chest.  “I’ll be there so fast, you’d think I’d only been gone a second.”

–

The big day finally arrives a week later, and the boys are packing up their luggage to go home.  Zayn and Louis stayed the night, offering to help clean up before Harry sent the house keys back to its owners.

Harry and Niall are preparing the Rolls Royce when Harry sadly says, “I’m really going to miss this place.  We had a lot of fun, didn’t we, Loki?”  The puppy barks from the backseat, and they continue loading their duffel bags.

“Is there really nothing I can do to convince you to stay longer?” Zayn pouts playfully.

“Oh Zayn, we’re going to miss you so much!” Harry says, giving Zayn a brotherly hug. “Niall’s going to miss your handjobs, it hurts to think about it.”

“Hey!” Niall shouts, hitting Harry over the head, “You are seriously so weird!”

“Observant!” Harry shouts back, stomping his foot. “Speaking of which, where’s Liam and Louis?”

The three boys wander back inside the cottage, Harry and Zayn taking the first floor, and Niall taking the second.  He hears shuffling in the room that belonged to Liam, and presses his ear against the door.

_“Louis, I have to go, you know I’ll see you soon.”_

_“Just one more time, Liam, something to remember me by?”_

_“Were the bluebell fields not enough?”_

_“I always want more than you can give me.”_

Niall quickly removes his ear from the door, unable to handle anymore of their conversation.  “Liam, open up!” he pounds on the door, “We have to go now!”

“Just a second!”

Niall backs away and leans against the wall with his arms crossed.  Zayn reaches the top of the staircase and stands beside him.  “Taking their time?” he asks.  Niall nods, but doesn’t elaborate any further.

The door finally opens and Liam stumbles out, cheeks flushed with the goofiest smile on his face, holding a basket of peaches.  “Right, let’s get back home, shall we?”

Louis emerges from the room with a content expression on his face, nodding at Niall before he drapes his arm around Liam’s shoulders.  Niall points at a small notebook in Liam’s hand when they walk down the stairs, but Zayn simply holds a finger to his lips, implying it’s none of their business.

–

Harry drives down the sole empty road leading the way out of the countryside.  Niall takes one last look at the rolling hills, and his heart skips a beat when he sees the pathway where he and Zayn spent some of their unforgettable nights.  Niall knows he shouldn’t fret, Zayn and Louis will visit London in two weeks.

They’d only been on the road for less than thirty minutes when they hear a loud rumbling trailing behind them.  Niall turns to face the back window when he sees a truck quickly gaining on them.  He recognizes the dark blue paint job almost immediately, and it blazes past the Rolls Royce, resulting in Harry sticking his middle finger out the window, yelling out, “Asshole!”

The truck drives farther and farther until it makes a u-turn, quickly heading towards the Rolls before switching lanes and Niall briefly hears Zayn shouting, “You fucking missed them, go back go back!”

“What the hell is going on!?” Liam shouts, and Harry keeps driving with no intention to stop.  Loki’s barks deafen the inside of the car, but they aren’t loud enough to drown out Louis’s truck.

Niall pushes aside the sunroof and stands up when Louis’s truck is driving in reverse, having finally caught up with the Rolls, and Zayn’s face comes into view.

“What the fuck are you doing, Zayn!?” Niall yells out, holding on to the roof of the car.

“I couldn’t leave without one more kiss!” he yells back, leaning out of the window. “And I forgot to give you something!”

“Are you serious, Zayn!  You couldn’t send it in the mail!?”

“No! I need to give it to you now or I’ll die!”  The truck swerves and Niall shouts, holding his hand out, thinking it would stretch out long enough to hold onto Zayn.

“Niall get down from there, we can just pull over!” Harry shouts from below.

“No, just keep going!”

Louis gets his truck back on course and Zayn’s holding a red envelope for Niall to grab, but they’re still too far.  “Closer, Louis!”  The truck edges close enough to leave at least a three inch gap between them.

“Hurry, Zayn!  They’re getting closer to the motorway!” Louis shouts.

Niall leans out far enough to reach out for Zayn–Liam leaning over his seat to hold on to Niall’s legs, shouting at him to hurry before they all die and Loki eats them in a rage–and grabs his envelope.  At the same time, Zayn leans in to kiss Niall one last time, the accelerated winds flying between their bodies can’t stop Niall from ever forgetting this moment.

Their kiss is broken when Louis stops his truck and Harry keeps driving.  Niall gasps and quickly turns back to see Zayn running out of the truck and stopping halfway when he can’t run any further.

“I love you, Zayn!” Niall screams at the top of his lungs.

Zayn cups his hands over his mouth and screams back, “I love you more!”

The two furiously wave goodbye to each other until they both fade into the distance.

_Niall_

_This entire season cannot sum up how much you mean to me.  Never have I been so happy in my life that I cannot imagine it without you.  Just the mere thought of you brightens my day, and that’s all I’ll ever need to feel to know you’re always with me.  I count the days until we’re together again._

_Love always,  
Zayn x_

**Author's Note:**

> Many many thanks to **Any** for beta-ing and encouraging me to finish!
> 
> Dedicated to my very good friend Lola on her birthday :)


End file.
